Cold As Ice
by Isis123
Summary: Rachel and Shelby get a second chance. Puckleberry. Sanchel & Kurtchel friendship. Epilogue added.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. Apparently wishing on a star only works for little boys made out of wood…unfair

xxxxxx

Shelby Corcoran had left Rachel with several things: looks, a magnificent voice, heartache, and a lifetime's worth of insecurities. While Rachel was grateful for the voice, she could have gone without the insecurity and heartache, and her feelings on her looks were complicated on the best of days. There were a couple more things the mother – not mom – left the teenager: a drinking glass and a gold star necklace the woman bought when she had first arrived in New York.

Rachel didn't use the glass. The night after she had performed Pocker Face with Shelby on stage, her dad brought her water in it in hopes of soothing his daughter's tears, but seeing the star-decorated glass just made her cry harder. She did however wear the necklace. Rachel didn't know why this present didn't bring her to tears; she just knew there was a little piece of Shelby she could always have close to her. Ever since the two agreed to appreciate each other from afar Rachel hadn't taken the item of jewelry off. When Puck jokingly gave her a hard time about it during Glee a couple of weeks later, saying that she was being a bad Jew for wearing a five-pointed star, Rachel quietly replied that Shelby gave it to her. An awkward silence settled over the group after that, until Will Schuester redirected their focus on choosing set list for Regionals. After practice that day, Puck caught up with Rachel in the parking lot to apologize. The sincerity in his voice caught her off guard. Sure their friendship had grown substantially since the beginning of the year, they had even dated for a brief week, but aside from a few conversations before rehearsals, the two didn't really acknowledge one another. She accepted his apology and the two finished off the school year never really bringing it up again.

xxxxxx

It was now junior year and the necklace was still firmly clasped around her neck. Finn had broken up with Rachel a month ago. When he had left her in the hallway Rachel immediately called Puck, profusely apologizing for any damage her confession may have caused to his friendship with Finn.

"Again, I am so sorry, Noah," she said, "I know that you have been working very hard to regain Finn's confidence for many months now, and I hope my actions haven't jeopardize your efforts." Puck wanted to be mad, but Rachel assured him that she had taken full responsibility for the tryst.

"I promise, Noah, all Finn knows is that you drove me home after school because you were concerned and then you admirably resisted my advances when I continuously threw myself at you once we had arrived at my house."

"That's not what happened, Berry." Yes, he had been the one to end their make out session and he had been trying hard to get back in Finn's good graces for a while now, but Puck felt bad that Rachel took the brunt of Finn's anger.

"It's fine, Noah. I know Finn misses you and this way there's still hope that you two can one day be best friends again."

"Alright, Berry." He really wanted his best friend back.

xxxxxx

The last week of January felt like one of the coldest in Ohio history. The town was blanketed in snow and the lake by the parking lot had frozen over. As she walked towards her car, which was parked at the far end of the lot, she felt something cold slide inside her bra. She removed the glove from her right hand and loosened up the button of her coat so that she could pull out the strange object. Once she felt the chain on her fingertips her eyes began to water. The clasp of Shelby's necklace had somehow snapped. Could this month get any worse, she thought to herself. As if on cue she heard two sets of heavy feet behind her.

"Hey freak," Karofsky sneered.

"David. Azimio," She acknowledged curtly, "Was there something you needed?"

Ignoring her question, Karofsky asked one of his own, "What you got there, loser?"

Realizing he meant her necklace, Rachel tried to hide it behind her back, but Azimio snatched it up.

"Give that back!"

"Make me," Azimio laughed.

"Please, it was my mother's" Rachel explained; for some reason she thought the two would sympathize with her if they realized the necklace had sentimental value. She was wrong.

"Last I heard your mom didn't want you," Karofsky stated.

"Yeah, didn't she like adopt Puckerman's kid cuz she wanted a better daughter?" Azimio added. McKinley's gossip circle was really unmatched.

Rachel tried to ignore their hurtful remarks.

"Please, give me back my necklace," she requested.

"Fetch, bitch," Azimio said as he chucked it onto the lake. As the two boys walked away to their cars, Rachel made her way down to the (frozen) water's edge. She looked around and found a decently sized frozen clump of dirt. She grabbed the heavy bundle and threw it onto the ice, checking its resilience. When nothing happened, she decided the ice was thick enough to hold her weight; she didn't plan to be on it long. Although the wind had given Azimio's throw a little more height, the necklace wasn't too far out. Rachel quickly made her way on to the ice; she slipped a bit on her second step, but managed to keep herself upright. After she made it to the object, she pocketed the gold chain and pendant. However, when she made her turn she heard the dreaded cracking of weak ice. Rachel froze. As the ice began splintering around her, the soprano kept absolutely still hoping to keep the floor beneath her from breaking all the way through. After about a minute the cracking seemed to stop. Rachel was paralyzed in fear. She called out for help, but there was no one around. Come on, Rachel, you need to get off this ice, the girl thought to herself. Move, her inside voice yelled at her. She took a step and then another. As she made to take her third tentative step, the ice gave way. Rachel managed to let out a sharp scream before she dropped like a sack of potatoes below the ice.

The frigid water took her breath away. She let out a gasp, allowing the bitter cold liquid to enter her mouth. Rachel felt like someone was choking her and as every muscle in her body tightened on impulse a burning sensation overwhelmed her. Rachel surfaced briefly but quickly slipped under again due to the weight of her heavy winter boots and multiple thick layers of clothing. The panicked girl kicked as fiercely as she could to get back up to the surface despite the fact that she could already feel her energy waning. When she finally resurfaced Rachel tried to pull her shivering body out of the water flailing her arms out grasping at ice, yet, every time she would grab the ice around her it would break off and join her floating body. By the time she found a spot of solid ice she barley had the strength to rest her arms out flat on the sheet. Rachel managed to call out for help twice before she could no longer do anything but gasp. Her body shook violently as the majority of it rested beneath the numbing waters.

xxxxxx

Puck and Finn were just making their way out of the front doors of McKinley when Puck heard what he thought to be a cry for help.

"Did you hear that?" Puck asked the taller boy.

"Here what?"

"I thought I heard-"

"Move, losers," Santana interrupted as she pushed through the pair.

"It's called excuse me, Satan."

"It's called bite me, Puckerman."

"Not without a shot of penicillin."

"Says the man-whore."

Finn tuned his teammates out, knowing the insult fest would go on for at least another sixty seconds. He and Puck were planning on playing COD on Burt's big screen this afternoon so, even if he wanted to leave the two teens to fight amongst themselves, he couldn't; Puck was his ride. After Rachel confessed to kissing Puck, Finn had been livid; another girlfriend had cheated on him with his (former?) best friend. The tall football player planned on confronting the guy, but Rachel quickly followed up her confession with reassurance that the kiss had been her fault, and hers alone. The brunette told him that she had basically thrown herself at Puck, who had been caught off guard, resulting in a few kisses. But, she explained, he stopped the situation from progressing, by immediately pushing himself away from her. Rachel told Finn that Puck had informed her that his decision not to make out with her was driven solely by the fact that the Mohawked-boy was determined not to hurt his friend again. Finn approached Puck the next day at school and awkwardly thanked him for trying to do the right thing; and, while the two weren't at a braid-each-others'-hair level of friendship, they were working on it.

The name calling finally came to a close when Santana announced she was freezing her tetas off. Puck was going to reply with a jab about them being silicon, but the cold was also getting to him; he wanted to get to his truck so he can turn the heater to full blast.

The three made their way to the parking lot. Aside from Puck's truck and Santana's red Ford Thunderbird, the only cars left were those that belonged to students still in detention. Puck and Finn made their way to the left where the blue truck was slowly gathering snow while Santana went right. When Santana reached her car she noticed Rachel's purple Prius was still parked two spots down. Odd, she thought, since Rachel had practically raced out of practice this afternoon. Santana's eyes then caught something out of place by the lake. There seemed to be something dark sticking out of the ice. She focused her eyes a bit more as she unconsciously took a few steps forward.

"Rachel!" Santana's cry vibrated through the air. The Latina would recognize that hideous multicolored stripped coat anywhere. As Santana raced down to the lake, Puck and Finn quickly ran after the girl, her scream having stopped them from getting in the truck. When Santana reached the shore she called out to the girl again.

"Rachel! Rachel! Can you hear me? Rachel!"

When Puck reached Santana's side he wanted to vomit. Rachel was almost fully submerged in the lake; only her arms and face, which was covered by hair, were visible. She wasn't moving or responding to their cries.

"Call 911!" He ordered as he began to take off his coat. Santana did so, never taking her eyes off her unmoving teammate.

"What are you doing?" Finn asked frantically.

"I'm gonna go get her!" Puck yelled, removing any other articles of clothing that would weigh him down.

"Are you crazy? If the ice couldn't hold her, it won't hold you!"

"They said the ambulance will be here in seven minutes," Santana quickly informed the two.

"She doesn't have seven minutes."

"Puck!"

"I'm going! Just watch my back." The teen thought the best route would be a straight line in the direction Rachel's arms were pointing to. Puck slowly inched his way onto the ice, trying to make his way over to Rachel move as quickly as possible without breaking through the ice. Santana and Finn held their breath.

"I'm coming, Rachel!" Puck didn't think she was conscious, but he didn't want her to feel alone. He wanted her to know that he would save her. After what felt like an eternity, Puck finally reached Rachel's sprawled out arms. He carefully knelt down and gripped her around the elbows and gave a strong pull. Most of the still girl's body came out of the frigid water. Puck pulled again, removing her entirely from the water. The scared teen felt for a pulse, but when his fingers touched her skin his nausea from a short while ago returned tenfold. Rachel's skin was as cold as the ice they were standing on. Puck didn't think it was possible for a person to feel that cold. Puck thought he felt a weak heart beat as he pressed his fingers to the side of her neck but he wasn't positive. He pushed her stiff damp hair out of her face to get a better look at her. Rachel's face was unnaturally pale, tinged with blue, and her eyes were rolled back into her head.

"How is she?" called Finn.

"I don't know." Puck replied miserably. He carefully picked Rachel up bridal style and made his way back to shore. Again, Santana and Finn watched with bated breath. Puck kept whispering reassurances to the unconscious girl as they made their agonizingly slow trek back to solid ground. By some miracle the ice held.

When Puck settled her on the ground, Santana immediately began to unbutton the girl's signature coat. The Latina didn't even register the tears silently making their way down her face; she just focused on getting Rachel out of her wet clothes. Finn shrugged off his outer layer and wrapped it around the blue-lipped girl, the large item of clothing engulfing her still and tiny frame. Puck grabbed his coat and placed it mostly around Rachel's shoulders and head. Finn went to rub Rachel's arms, but was harshly shoved out of the way by Puck who realized the girl wasn't breathing. Finn thinks his heart stopped when he heard those words. Puck began performing chess compressions, hoping that he remembered enough from freshmen health to actually help her. During a couple of the compressions muddy water came out of her mouth, which he hoped was a good sign. Santana positioned herself by Rachel's mouth. After she counted thirty pumps she pinched Rachel's nose and tilted her chin back so that she could blow two breaths into her lungs. They continued the pattern for a couple minutes when they heard the ambulance approaching. Finn left his post to direct the paramedics to the spot. Two men followed the tall boy down the icy slope with a stretcher and EMS space blankets. When the paramedics saw that Puck was performing CPR they immediately took control of the situation and put their training to work. Rachel began gasping for air, but it seemed to be an automatic response more than anything. Aside from basic reflexes she was still unresponsive. The two professionals loaded her into the ambulance and informed the three teens that they were taking her to Lima Memorial.

xxxxxx

When Rachel arrived at the hospital her core body temperature was a mere 89 degrees. The doctors' greatest fear was significant brain damage. Their fears grew worse when Rachel became combative with her caregivers. The doctors and nurses worked to bring her temperature back up, hoping that it would relieve some of the confusion and distress she seemed to be exhibiting. All of Rachel's wet clothes had been stripped off in the ambulance, replaced by layers upon layers of blankets. Those blankets were then replaced by the hospital's heated ones. Wrapped heating pads were placed around her head, neck, upper body, and groin. She was given warm intravenous fluids and the radiant heater was also lowered. Gradually her core temperature began to improve.

"Can you tell us what your name is, sweetie?" One of the nurses asked.

"Rachel," she answered softly through the masked that was delivering heated, humidified oxygen to her.

"Rachel can you tell us where you are?"

"A… A hospital." While Rachel's confusion was no longer a worry, those working around her could tell she was still scared.

"Rachel, my name is Dr. Jean Harper you're going to be just fine." Rachel nodded, but the fear in her eyes didn't go away. Hoping to ease her fears Dr. Harper let her know that her friends were outside the waiting room and that once she was moved to a private room they could visit her.

"Friends?" the doctor could tell she was fighting off sleep.

"Yes. I believe Dr. Lopez' daughter and nurse Puckerman's son were outside. There was also a rather tall boy with them as well." Rachel tried to follow what the man was saying but she was just so tired. Her eyes closed and she drifted off to sleep.

xxxxxx

Finn, Puck, and Santana had followed the ambulance as fast as they could. When they arrived in the emergency room, they demanded to be let back to see Rachel, but the receptionist told them that Rachel was being worked on and that a doctor would come speak to them when they had news. Santana looked like she was about going to claw the woman's eyes out, Puck's expression wasn't much better. Finn looked like someone had ran over his puppy. Deciding that homicide wasn't the solution, both Santana and Puck whipped out their cell phones. Santana called her dad, Puck, his mom. The three were quickly taken to the waiting room where Puck's mom assured them that she would keep them informed. Although the three wanted to see Rachel immediately, they figured frequent updates were better than nothing.

xxxxxx

When Rachel woke up she heard hushed voices speaking near by and she felt a rough hand holding her left one. She slowly opened her eyes and squeezed the mysterious hand.

"Guy's shut up," Puck ordered, "Rachel?"

"Noah?" she croaked out; luckily, she was too exhausted to freak out about her voice.

"Hey," Puck smiled as she turned her head to face him. Rachel was about to ask what he was doing there, but a sudden weight on her chest prevented her from speaking. The petite diva looked down and saw Santana Lopez, the girl who had recently helped bring about the collapse of her relationship with Finn, hugging her tightly.

"Noah, is this a dream?" Puck laughed.

"No, she's really there. Get off of her Lopez, she needs to breath." Santana reluctantly pushed herself off the bed. When she came up Rachel could see that she had tears in her eyes.

"Santana, are you okay?" Rachel asked. Santana wiped her eyes and nodded yes.

"How are you feeling, Rach?" Finn questioned as he stepped up behind Santana.

"A little sore. Tired."

"What were you doing out on the lake." The question had been running around Puck's head since he had seen her in the water.

"I had to get my necklace."

"What?" Her response sounded like a non sequitur.

"The star that Shelby gave me," she explained.

"You almost died over a piece of jewelry."

"I didn't almost di-"

"Yes you did!" His outburst startled the rest of the teens in the room.

"God, you were ice-cold Rachel. You weren't breathing!" Puck unleashed, "We thought you were dead!" Rachel looked away, embarrassed that she had caused them to worry.

"I'm sorry. I…It's just…" She didn't know how to explain why the necklace meant so much to her. She knew that Shelby had handled their reunion rather poorly and that the woman's actions implied that she had no interest in Rachel what so ever, but the necklace made her feel like Shelby believed in her. Believed that she was talented and that she would make it in New York. Yes, it was just a gilded mass produced piece of jewelry, but it meant the world to Rachel.

Puck watched as Rachel tried to find words to justify her actions. Truth was, he understood. His old man left him a leather strapped watch before he left; and while Puck would freely admit his dad was a dick, he still wore it religiously. His little league coach once told him to take it off during a game and when Puck wouldn't the man reached for the strap off so a very young Noah Puckerman bit down on the guy's wrist. Hard.

"I get it," he said simply. Finn and Santana were confused at his sudden change of demeanor.

"You do?" Her sad eyes looked up at him through her long lashes.

"It's your mom's." Santana and Finn both felt like they were intruding on a private moment. Regardless, the moment was ruined by a knock on the door. It was Dr. Harper. The doctor came in and was followed by nurse Puckerman.

"Hi, Rachel."

"Hi. Ms. Puckerman. Doctor…" She didn't really remember who the man was.

"Harper," the man supplied, "We met in the ER, but I doubt you would remember that."

"I'm sorry. I don't remember much after falling in the lake."

"No need to apologize, Ms. Berry. We're just glad your doing better."

"Rachel, I managed to get in touch with your father, Hiram, a short while ago. He said he and your dad would get here as fast as they could." Her dads were still stuck in traffic, the snow making it rather difficult for cars to get through the streets during rush hour.

"Thank you, Ms. Puckerman."

"Well, guys," Dr. Harper said addressing the visitors in the room, "I just want to check Rachel over before I go home for the night." As her three heroes made to leave the room Rachel held Puck's hand hard.

"It was in the right pocket of my coat." He nodded, silently promising he find it.

After the room was cleared out, the doctor began his examination. He listened to her breath with his stethoscope, checked her pulse, and had her perform lung exercises on the Spirometer. He continued looking her over and concluded that she so far demonstrated no signs of a lung infection or neurological or heart problems.

"Rachel, we'll be keeping you overnight to monitor your vitals. If all goes well you'll be out of here tomorrow morning."

"I can't go home?" She wasn't a fan of hospitals, but then who was.

"It's just to be safe. But like I said, you seem to be recovering really well, and you'll most like be released in the morning."

"Thank you, doctor-"

"Rachel!" Julius and Hiram Berry dashed into the room and engulfed their daughter in a family hug. They began firing a multitude of questions at her when Dr. Harper introduced himself.

"Mr. Berry, Mr. Berry, I'm Rachel's doctor Jean Harper," he said with his arm extended out. The Daddies Berry immediately redirected their questions towards the man with the medical degree.

"Lets step outside and give Rachel a chance to say goodbye to her friends." As the three men walked out the door three teens soon filled the room. There was an uncomfortable silence for a good thirty seconds until Santana's voice finally broke it.

"I didn't know your dad was black," Santana said. Rachel laughed, "That's daddy."

"Well, you should totally take "daddy" to school, guarantee the jocks would stop throwing slushies in your face if they knew you were related to Shaq. And I know a bunch of Cheerios would be nicer seeing as he's gorgeous."

"Daddy's only six three."

"Not the point."

"And I wouldn't want to parade my father around school so that a bunch of deluded teenage girls could fawn over him." Puck and Finn decided to step in because the conversation had taken a weird turn.

"What did Harper say?" asked Puck

"Yeah, can you go home?" Finn followed.

"I have to stay overnight, but Dr. Harper said that I seem to be recovering quite nicely."

"Hey," Puck asked suddenly remembering something that had bugged him about Rachel's story earlier, "how did your necklace get onto the ice?" She informed the three about her confrontation with Karofsky and Azimio and how it had ended with Azimio hurling the pendant and chain onto the ice.

"Pendejos," muttered Santana, " I'm totally cutting them off from the Cheerios." Rachel decided against reminding Santana that she usually laughed when people bullied others; she also kept her suspicions of the Cheerio-ban not bothering David to herself - Rachel's gaydar was almost as good as her voice. Rachel noticed that Finn and Puck had yet to say anything. When she looked at the boys they seemed to be having a silent conversation amongst themselves.

"No," Rachel said firmly.

"What?" asked Finn.

"Whatever you two are planning. No."

"Yeah, you're both crazy if you think you're gonna get those assholes back without my help."

"None of you are going to do anything."

"You think we're just gonna let them get away with almost getting you killed," Finn cried.

"First off, I doubt they thought their actions would result in such a disastrous fashion; and secondly, you and I are no longer dating." She then looked at Santana.

"You and I are not friends," she then turned to Puck, "and I will tell your mother." Finn snickered a little, which caused Rachel to readdress him.

"Don't think I don't have Carole's number," she threatened.

"Rachel…" Puck tried.

"It was an accident. They shouldn't have thrown it and I shouldn't have walked out on the ice." Any further arguments were silenced by the reappearance of Dr. Harper and Rachel's dads and Puck's mother.

"Sorry guys but visiting hours are over. Rachel needs to rest up." Puck saw Rachel whisper something in his mother's ear, which caused the older woman to fix her son with a death glare.

"Noah, a word please," Diana stated. Puck, knew the 'please' was just because there were others in the room and she didn't want people to know she was seconds away from killing her son. Rachel didn't make empty threats. She knew that Diana would keep Noah in check and with him out of the picture Finn would most likely not confront the two bullies. She wasn't sure what she could do about Santana, but figured that the Latina's idea of a sexual boycott wasn't something to worry herself over.

xxxxxx

Rachel's fathers had kept her home the day she was released form the hospital. At three thirty Noah showed up on the Berry doorstep with her coat in his hand.

"It's kind of frozen since we didn't take it with us to the hospital," he said holding out the multi-colored coat for her to take.

"Thank you for retrieving it for me," Rachel she said sticking her hands into the right pocket after. Puck saw her frown when she realized there was nothing there.

"I fixed it for you," Puck explained, pulling the Shelby's necklace out of his pocket, "I had to make the chain a little shorter, but it should still fit." Rachel had to physically restrain herself from throwing her arms around him in gratitude.

"Thank you so much, Noah," she expressed wholeheartedly.

"Turn around." Rachel did and Puck secured the jewelry around her neck. Rachel looked down and while it fell a little higher than before, it was still perfect. Rachel couldn't help it anymore. She turned to face Noah and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Thank you, Noah. You don't know what this means to me." Puck shrugged, not really knowing how to handle her gratitude.

"Hey is your dad home?" Rachel looked a bit confused.

"Dad or Daddy?"

"Julius."

"Yes, even though I told him I was fine on my own, he insisted on working from home today."

"Do you think I could talk to him?" Puck wasn't mad that Rachel had ratted him out to his mom, but that didn't mean he wasn't going to get her back.

"Of course. Come in. Please make yourself comfortable. I'll just run upstairs and let him know you're here." Rachel quickly returned and told Puck that her fathers' office was the first door on the right. Once inside the office Puck closed the door so that Rachel couldn't eavesdrop on the conversation. Julius was curious as to what Diana's son needed. Puck wasn't a big fan of fathers, but revenge took precedence. The teenager informed the man of what really went down yesterday afternoon. Puck knew Rachel didn't tell her dads about the bullying she often faced at school. He found out during their brief fling. He had been hesitant about going to her house but she assured him that her dads knew nothing of his penchant for tossing slushies in her face. Puck figured she probably made up some bullshit story about how she ended up in the lake. When he saw the surprise and anger on Julius face, Puck knew he was right. The teenager then pulled out a yearbook from his backpack so that Julius had an image of the two boys responsible for his daughter's trip to the hospital. When Puck was done Julius stood up and shook his hand.

As the two made their way downstairs they found Rachel on the couch talking to someone on the phone.

"No, Santana, really there's no need. I'm fine and I'll be at school tomorrow. But thank you for the offer." When Puck heard Santana's name come out of Rachel's mouth he was afraid the Latina was going to inform the diva of his plan; the Latina's words yesterday gave him the idea.

"Yes, he's here…He said he needed to talk to my father…I don't know, I didn't ask…That's a bit nosey…Well he's right here so why don't you ask him yourself," she said handing her cell over to Puck. As Puck tried to placate Santana's curiosity, Rachel saw that her father had his Harvard scarf on and was pulling out a coat from the closet by the front door.

"Daddy, where are you going?"

"Oh I have a few unexpected errands I need to run. Noah said he didn't mind staying with you until your dad or I return."

"Daddy, I don't need a babysitter. Dr. Harper told you I was fine."

"Humor me, pumpkin." He kissed her on the cheek and told her to let Noah know that he was more than welcomed to stay for dinner, with that he was off.

"Santana says she's coming over," Puck informed her as he hung up the phone. Rachel didn't look too pleased.

"Look I know you two have a history but honestly San is basically like a Hippogriff. Sure she can be a total bitch and rip you to shreds in a heartbeat, but once she likes you she's like crazy loyal and protective."

"So me falling into the ice was akin to bowing properly?"

"Basically." Rachel rolled her eyes.

"Do you know where my father had to run off to?"

"Yeah, about that. Remember how you got me in trouble with my mom yesterday?"

"I stopped you from getting into trouble."

"Whatever. Well I just returned the favor."

"I'm not sure I understand."

"I let him know how your necklace really wound up on the lake." Rachel's eyes widened in panic.

"Noah Puckerman!"

"What? Do you really think he actually bought your 'oh a bird got to it' excuse."

"It was a plausible explanation."

"Think again. He knew you were lying; I just helped fill in the gaps. Anyways don't worry, he's just going to talk to their parents." She wanted to be mad but then she remembered that he had not only retrieved Shelby's necklace for her but fixed it as well.

xxxxxx

Close friends of Julius Berry knew he was a funny and sensitive man who wouldn't hurt a fly, but for those who made snap judgments based solely on his appearance, he looked to be a very intimidating individual. Julius was hoping Azimio Adams and David Karofsky would come to the same wrong conclusion. Rachel's father first went to the Adam's residence. When he knocked on the door Lisa Adams, a paralegal from the firm, opened the door.

"Mr. Berry?"

"Good afternoon, Lisa, I was wondering if I could have a word with you and your son?"

Upon hearing Lisa's reaction to Azimio's behavior, Julius knew he had done the right thing. The woman was yelling so loudly at her son that he almost felt bad for the boy, but then he remembered how frightened he was when Diana called him the day before and all sympathy vanished.

Julius then drove to David Karofsky's house. The boy's father opened the door and invited the man inside after Julius introduced himself.

"Mr. Karofsky, an incident between your son and my daughter occurred yesterday that resulted in her be taken to the hospital emergency room." Frank was shocked. He knew David was having problems at school but he never thought he'd hurt a girl. After Julius informed the man of not what had occurred afterschool, the two men heard the front door open. David stepped inside unaware that there was company.

"David, could you come in here please."

xxxxxx

**A/N: This was going to be a one shot but I needed time to come up with a conclusion. Also to those reading my story and Inconvenient Stop, I am soooo sorry about the long wait. I spent a week at the beach not really thinking about it and then this popped into my head. **


	2. Chapter 2

When Julius returned home he saw that it was the lights were off and that Noah's truck was no longer parked behind Rachel's in the driveway. The man found it odd that Hiram was still at work seeing as he and his partner usually left the office at five, five forty-five at the latest; it was now six thirty. As he entered the house he shrugged off his coat and called out for his daughter.

"Rachel?" Getting no response, he tried again, this time louder, "Rachel? Pumpkin, you awake?" Nothing. Julius began to feel uneasy. He made his was up the stairs, turning on lights as he went, to check Rachel's room. It was empty. Julius immediately reached for his cell phone, but remembered that it was in his coat. Hurrying back down to the stairs he checked the pocket and whipped out his phone only to find that it was out of batteries. Julius rushed to the house phone by the sofa and found a yellow sticky note next to it:

_Took Rachel to hospital, had chest pains and fever. Tried calling, no answer. Hiram's meeting us there. – P_

xxxxxx

Rachel and Puck were in the living room with Santana laughing at Rachel's Ms. Pillsbury impression when the coughs started. Catching her breath, Rachel excused herself and traveled to the kitchen so that she could make herself some tea to soothe her throat. While heating the water she let out a few more coughs. She covered her mouth with a napkin and when the coughs subsided she found the center of the paper towel covered in phlegm. Scrunching up her nose, she tossed the napkin away and waited for the expected whistle of the teakettle.

When Rachel returned to the living room, Puck and Santana were in the middle of discussing what they thought Julius was doing to Azimio and Karofsky.

"I highly doubt Daddy is slushie boarding them, Santana," Rachel imputed, "He's a member of the ACLU." Santana watched as Rachel sat back down on the sofa. The petite girl looked paler than she had a few minutes ago and she was sweating.

"Are you feeling okay?" the cheerleader asked. Puck also noticed Rachel's change in complexion. Rather than waiting for an answer he invaded her personal space and laid the back of his hand to her sweaty forehead.

"You're hot," he said displeased. Santana then mimicked his actions, to check for herself.

"Stop that," Rachel demanded as she swatted the other girl's hand away, but not before Santana could feel the heat radiating off her.

"He's right," she frowned. Rachel was about to tell the two that their concern was misplaced when she broke out into a coughing fit. Unlike the two previous episodes, she couldn't catch her breath. Both Santana and Puck tried not to panic as the smaller girl doubled over, white knuckling the armrest of the couch. Puck raised her torso upright and gave her a forceful clap on the back. As he did that Santana held Rachel's hand and tried to keep her calm. During the course of their friendship, Santana had seen Brittany have two asthma attacks, so when Rachel started having trouble breathing, the cheerleader knew that if she freaking out it would make Rachel panic and, if a coughing fit was anything like asthma, that would make it more difficult for the girl to breathe.

"It's okay. You can breathe." She placed Rachel's hand, which was grasping her own, on top of her chest so that Rachel could focus on matching Santana's rhythm. Puck gave Rachel another clap and dark phlegm once again came out. Rather than being grossed out, Santana phoned her father and let him know what was going on. The doctor told her that he would be waiting for the three at the entrance hospital – having an attending for a father had its perks. The two popular gleeks began gathering their things, telling Rachel that they were going back to the hospital. Rachel just nodded as she tried to deal with an unusual sense of pressure on her chest. Before leaving Puck searched Rachel's cell and called her fathers but he was only able to reach Hiram. After informing him that he and Santana were taking Rachel back to Memorial, Puck scribbled a note for Julius and then three were out the door.

xxxxxx

"Why didn't you catch this when she was here?"

"You said she was fine!"

Dr. Harper had just informed the Berry men that their daughter had pneumonia, specifically Aspiration pneumonia. Some of the lake water she swallowed the previous day had made its way into her lungs allowing bacteria to infect the organs.

"Mr. and Mr. Berry, I understand you're both upset and scared for your daughter, but nothing showed up on the chest x-ray this morning. Unfortunately, the bacteria needed time to manifest itself." The fourth year resident knew he had followed procedure, but he still felt guilty for not catching the infection earlier. Although still unhappy with the fact that their only child was back in the hospital, the two men tried to reel in their anger so that they could discuss treatment.

"We've placed her on antibiotics and I'll be writing her a prescription that should last her two weeks," the man informed them.

"You're sending her home?" Hiram's fight to keep his temper down was waning. Sensing the father thought he was being dismissive of his daughter's illness, Harper quickly explained that pneumonia was usually as bad as the flu.

"Rachel's in excellent health. She's young, has no history of any immune deficiencies, and she's not dehydrated or vomiting. I know it sounds rudimentary, but all she needs is bed rest and plenty of fluids. If her fever gets worse you can give her some acetaminophen, but I don't want her taking any cough suppressants, the goal is to get rid of the mucus in her lungs, not keep it in. Also, I'd recommend placing a humidifier in her room; the moisturized air soothes irritated lungs. Before you leave, I'll make sure that we schedule a check-up for next week."

xxxxxx

Four days after her last trip to the hospital Rachel was lying in her bed drifting in and out of sleep to the sounds of One Eskimo when she heard a light knock on her door.

"Come in," she said not bothering to lift her head, assuming it was her dad coming to check on her for the tenth time in two hours.

"How you feeling, Berry?" That definitely wasn't her father's voice. Pushing herself up, Rachel saw Noah Puckerman standing at her doorway.

"Hi, Noah," she said, silently praying she looked somewhat presentable. She didn't, but Puck could careless, he was just glad the girl was out of the hospital.

"So, how much longer are they keeping you locked up?" he asked.

"Hopefully I'll be back in class by Thursday," she informed him.

"That blows. They won't even let you just have the whole week off?" The idea of being made to return to school sounded like punishment to Puck.

"If it were up to my fathers I'd never leave the house. I had to beg for them to agree to let me go back, so long as Dr. Harper gives me the all clear." Rachel hated being cooped up. She'd missed dance, glee, and exercising. She had no one to talk to at home either since she was contagious for the first few days, but luckily Mercedes, Kurt, and Santana had all called her at one time of another.

"Pneumonia is totally wasted on you," he joked shaking his head. Puck kept Rachel company for a couple hours. They talked about random topics until Puck noticed her fiddling with the necklace partly responsible for her current predicament.

"Do you ever regret meeting Shelby?" Her brow furrowed, partly because it was a personal question and partly because she wasn't really sure of the answer. Rachel didn't answer at first, giving him ample opportunity to apologize or backtrack for making such an intrusive inquiry. However, he did nothing of the sort, instead he actually looked like he deserved an answer.

"Yes and No," she finally gave in.

"I mean I've always wanted to meet the woman who gave birth to me. To see what she looked like, sounded like, moved liked, just everything. I love my dads but… I just wanted to meet her," she tried to articulate her feelings to the best of her ability.

"So why the no?" Rachel's mind flashed back to her initial meeting with Shelby:

"_It's supposed to feel good…this is all wrong. I'm so sorry Rachel. I'll…I'll call you." _

"I think we met too late. Or too early? I just wasn't what she expected I guess and I didn't really understand why." He kind of surprised that she wasn't crying. She just continued to play with the necklace staring out the window. He was about to make a go at making her feel better, but she started talking again, "I think she could have been a good mom though. Remember she made me that dress? And she sang with me once. We sounded good together… I think I was just too much for her."

Rachel's not so sure she believes what she's saying, but she doesn't want Puck to second-guess his decision to give up Beth more than he already did. Truth was, gun to her head, she'd rather Shelby had stayed out of her life.

xxxxxx 3 months later xxxxxx

Due to the tie at Sectionals, four teams were performing at this year's Regionals competition: Aural Intensity, the New Directions, Vocal Adrenaline, and the Warblers. Both Aural Intensity and the Warblers had already appeared on stage, which meant the McKinley High glee club would be up next.

The New Directions were anxiously waiting in the green room trying to calm their nerves. While the majority of the group were looking over themselves in the mirror or going over the dance routines in their heads, three singers were desperately trying to forget the event's of last year's competition.

Quinn Fabray rarely acknowledged the fact that she had ever been pregnant. This may seem cold, but it was the only way she knew how to deal with the fact that a piece of her would forever be missing. Noah Puckerman essentially adopted the same approach. Still, there were times when their thoughts traveled back to the little girl who had Quinn's nose and Puck's lips; like, for instance, right now, when they were siting in a green room waiting for their turn to perform at Regionals.

As Puck and Quinn sat on opposite ends of the couch, basically ignoring everything going on around them, Rachel Berry was seated in front of the lighted mirror allowing Santana to run a straightener through her hair. As the cheerleader discussed plans for the after party Brittany was throwing for the group, Rachel's mind wandered off.

Rachel was going to open with "Reflections" by Christina Aguilera. Mercedes and Santana would share lead on the middle group number, VV Brown's "Shark in the Water", and for the closing number Artie, Finn, Puck, and Sam would each take a verse for "Winter Winds" by Mumford and Sons. This was the group's favorite number because Mike, Brittany, and Mr. Schuester had come up with a fantastic dance that looked like a twenty-first century cotillion-esque waltz to accompany it.

Santana had tried to convince her to show Schue a couple of the songs she'd penned, but Rachel told her that those were private. The only reason the Cheerio even knew about them was because Rachel had left her notebook out on her bed one afternoon when Santana had been over for a study session. While the soprano was downstairs fixing them a snack, the taller girl had flipped through the pages. The first few were amusing (and terrible) - "My Headband", "I Like Dancing", and "Tap Shoes" – but the later ones were actually good. Santana particularly liked "Get it Right" and "Twice Lost". When Rachel came up to find her new friend perusing through the lyrics she'd written, she kind of freaked out.

"What are you doing?" Rachel questioned while trying to balance a tray of fruits, nuts, and Orangina.

"Looking through your shit," the girl answered and she continued to flip through the pages. Rachel all but slammed the tray down on her desk and rushed over to grab the book.

"Hey! I was reading that," Santana protested as the item was snatched from her hands.

"This is private," Rachel snapped. Santana didn't like the attitude and fired back with "Well don't leave it out in the open."

"It's my room."

"Yeah, and I'm in it."

"That doesn't give you the right to go through my things."

"It's not like ransacked the place to find it. It was on your bed. Plus I don't know what you're so pissed about, the songs are good."

"Really?" Rachel's tone lost it's fire.

"Well 'My Headband' was crap, but I liked most of the others," Santana answered honestly.

"You did?"

"Yeah. You should totally show them to Schue; no other team's gonna have an original song at Regionals."

"I don't think I could share them."

"Why?"

"They're personal. Private." Despite Rachel's initial objection, Santana made her go through the songs one by one. When they finished looking at the eight songs Santana decided she'd risk asking Rachel if her assumption was right.

"That 'Twice Lost' song is about Shelby right?"

Rachel was pulled out of the memory when Santana gave a not so gentle tug on her hair.

"Are you listening to me?"

"Yes, Brittany's party, you plan on getting me drunk, I'm staying the night."

"Shh, Schue's like right over there."

"Then maybe you shouldn't be discussing your goal of supplying me with a copious amount of alcohol." That remark earned her another hard tug.

When the light bulb above the door started flashing Will got up let the kids know it was time.

xxxxxx

As Rachel stood on the stage alone during her solo she glanced out into the crowd. The spot light on her was bright, but not bright enough to blind her to the fact that Shelby Corcoran was looking up at her from the front row as she bounced a smiling twelvemonth old on her leg. Rachel closed her eyes and turned away from the duo.

_Who is that girl I see_

_Staring straight back at me? _

_Why is my reflection_

_Someone I don't know? _

When the song came to a close she was met with a standing ovation. She smiled and risked glancing back at where Shelby was seated, but the woman and infant were both gone. Rachel wasn't sure if she was grateful for her absence or not.

xxxxxx

They won.

The New Directions had beat Aural Intensity, the Warblers, and Vocal Adrenaline. The teens were ecstatic. The bus ride back was full of laughs, smiles, and victory songs. Mr. Schuester sat in the front of the bus talking to Emma on his cell phone as the kids rejoiced in the back, well almost all of the kids. Rachel sat a couple seats behind the choir director trying to make sense of everything she was feeling. When Santana and Puck ventured up the aisle to see why she wasn't back there with everyone else she told them she was just tired since her nerves hadn't let her sleep the night before. Puck nodded and headed back to the madness – he needed to keep himself distracted – but Santana offered to stay up front with her to keep her company.

"Thank you, Santana, but really I'm just going to shut my eyes, I want to be wide away for the p-a-r-t-y." Santana laughed at her friend's attempt to be discreet.

"I'm pretty sure the guy can spell, Rach." Even though he'd obviously overheard the girls, Will cut them some slack and pretended he was wrapped up in his conversation with Emma. The Latina finally went back to join the others after Rachel once again (politely) declined the other girl's offer to keep her company.

An hour and a half into the drive back Will turned around to tell the kids to keep it down a bit – the bus driver could only listen to "We Are the Champions" so many times – as he did he saw that Rachel had tears in her eyes. When Rachel felt the man staring at her she looked up, smiled, and gently wiped the tears from her eyes.

After he let the kids know they had to turn the volume down a notch, he met Rachel's eyes ans softly asked her what was wrong.

"I'm just really happy we won, Mr. Schuester." The teacher frowned. Rachel Berry cried – a lot – and because of that those who knew her well, or at least spent a lot of time with the girl, were able to differentiate between the waterworks. There was her fake cry (which she used to get what she wanted with authority figures), her performance cry (which happened when she felt connected to a song), her sad cry (self explanatory), and her happy cry (these tears came when she was overwhelmed with love or acceptance). Will Schuester could immediately tell that the silent streaks running down her face were not those of a happy individual. The choir director moved from his seat to join her, hoping to figure out why someone who lived and breathed show choir was not elated that her team had come in first.

"Did something happen, Rachel?" Will thought one of the kids might have said something to her, but he didn't want to believe it seeing as the team had really come together ever since they had almost lost their co-captain to the icy lake waters.

"I saw Shelby." Her answer was so low, it took Will a second to process what he had heard.

"You saw your mom?" Rachel nodded.

"She was in the front row. Beth was with her." When the man didn't say anything she continued, "She left before my solo was over." Will wasn't sure what to say to the girl. Although he didn't know how Shelby had ended things with Rachel in the auditorium, he did know that Rachel never mentioned the woman.

"Why do you think she left?" It was a loaded question; they both knew that. Before Will could think of something reassuring to say to his student, they heard her name being called from the back.

"Rachel! Girl, get your skinny butt over here!" Rachel and Will turned to see Mercedes waving her over. When Rachel didn't move fast enough the jubilant teens began chanting her name. Rachel discretely wiped any remaining tears away from her cheeks and stood up. With one last look at the choir director, she made her way to the back of the bus.

xxxxxx

Brittany's parents were visiting relatives in Philadelphia for the week so the twelve students, plus Kurt and Blaine, had free reign of the spacious two-story house. Most of the teens were having a good time, not really looking to get wasted, just buzzed. Puck, Quinn, and Rachel on the other hand were wrecked. The three had been drinking since they had arrived. At first their friends thought it was funny: Finn's girlfriend was bitching at him about his height; Artie had let Puck borrow his chair to try tricks; and, Rachel was flirting with Santana and Brittany.

However, as the hours passed, and the trio didn't ease up on the alcohol, the situation lost its humor: Quinn started ranting about how stupid the name Drizzle was and how she had sacrificed her body for nothing; Puck was doing consecutive shots; and, Rachel was trying desperately to convince anyone to make out with her. Quinn eventually fell asleep (passed out) on Finn's lap; the tall boy let his friends know that he was taking her home and that if anyone needed a ride to let him know now. The rest of the girls declined as they had planned to sleepover, and Kurt told his stepbrother that Burt had given him the okay to stay over as well. Mike and Artie took Finn up on his offer and said goodbye to their girlfriends. Seeing that the party was coming to a close Sam and Blaine let the group know they were headed out as well. The only guy left, besides Kurt, was Puck, who appeared to be passed out on the couch as well. Finn told Brittany that he could take Puck home too, but the blonde assured him that it was cool.

Kurt and the girls began to make their way up the stairs to Brittany's room. Santana was pretty impressed Rachel was still standing, or at least leaning, but she was getting kind of annoyed by her incessant pleadings; the girl kept asking Santana to say she wanted her, which the Latina assumed had a romantic connotation to them. Instead of following the group up the cheerleader dragged Rachel to the kitchen to get some water into her.

"Tell me you want me," the shorter girl slurred. Santana, tired of this game, just rolled her eyes and shoved the glass in her hands.

"Drink up, alchie." Rather than drinking the water, Rachel just stared at the cup, twisting it around her hands.

"My cup has gold stars on it." Santana had no idea what she was talking about.

"That's great, Berry," she said patronizingly as she steered Rachel to one of the stools, "Now drink the water." Rachel sipped a bit of the liquid and then started talking again.

"Would you want me?" Rachel's eyes had so much hurt in them that Santana wished she was attracted to her, but her heart belonged to Brittany. Still, those pleading big brown eyes were begging her to say yes so Santana finally caved.

"Of course," she said gently, "Who wouldn't" With those words Rachel threw herself at the Cheerio, hugging her as tight as she could.

"Why didn't she?" Santana felt like she had missed something. Was Rachel gay? Bi? But then she heard Rachel mumble a few lines from "Twice Lost" and it all clicked. Santana ran her fingers through the forlorn girl's hair. Eventually Rachel's voice drifted off and Santana was left trying to figure out how to best move her from the stool. Luckily Brittany soon joined the two, wondering what was taking so long.

"Help me move her to your brother's room," Santana requested. Like Mercedes, the dancer also had a sibling in college. The skinny girls managed to carry Rachel down the hall and gently placed her on the mattress. Santana let the blonde know she'd be up in a bit, she just wanted to sit with Rachel a few more minutes.

Across the hall, the lone boy in the living room tried to ignore the dull ache in his chest and the few tears that managed to escape his eyes.

xxxxxx

**A/n: Yeah… story totally got away from me. Why am I so mean to Rachel? I don't know. The lyrics used aren't mine and the song "Twice Lost" doesn't actually exist (or maybe a song by that title does but none that I know of). Thanks to those who reviewed always nice to read – compliments or critiques, I don't care . **


	3. Chapter 3

Rachel woke up with a splinting headache and a dry mouth Saturday afternoon. She slowly opened her eyes and found that she was not in her own room. Instead she appeared to be in a boy's room – a very clean boy's room. There were a couple posters of men snowboarding on the walls and a few picture frames on top of the bookcase, but other than that the room was quite bare. Rachel tried to recall what had happened the previous night. The last thing she could remember was singing "Opps I did it Again" with Brittany, after that it was blank. Suddenly she felt her stomach turn. Panicked, Rachel looked around the floor and luckily spotted a trash bin that she hurriedly raced to just in time as she began empting the contents of her stomach.

Puck was having a similar reaction in the bathroom in the hall. The teen had woken up on a coach that he immediately recognized as Brittany's. This was not the first time the boy had slept over the blonde's house, which is how he knew the location of the nearest bathroom. As soon as the voices in the kitchen work him up he ran to the third door on the right and slammed it shut.

xxxxxx

"I guess Puck's awake," Kurt said as he munched on a pop tart. Santana slid off the stool she was sitting on, "I'll go check on him." When she knocked on the bathroom door she was met with the sounds of retching.

"Puck, you ok in there?" After a few more heaves, he let her know he was fine.

"I promise to be your slave for a year if get me some Gatorade and find me some Advil." That request was followed by another gag.

"I'm holding you to that. Gatorade and pills'll be on the kitchen counter when you're ready." Santana could be a bitch, but she knew hangovers sucked, plus her car needed a good cleaning and she didn't want to pay for it.

The cheerleader headed back to the kitchen and told Kurt and the girls that the Advil breakfast was for Puck; she then headed to Brittany's brother's room to see how Rachel was doing. She walked in to find her hunched over Kevin's Ohio Bears trashcan puking her guts out. Santana made her way over to the girl and held her hair back for her. When she finally felt her stomach settle, Rachel pulled away.

"You good?" Santana asked hesitantly. Rachel nodded. She looked down at the trashcan and embarrassment soon colored her face.

"I'm sorry about the trashcan, I didn't know where the bathroom was."

Santana waved off her apology, better a bin than then floor, "It's cool. Puck was using it anyways." After a pause the cheerleader stood up and held her hand out for Rachel, "Lets take this can out back so we can hose it down, okay?"

Rachel's legs shook a little when she first stood up, but she managed to follow Santana, who was holding the bin at arm's length, to the back yard.

"So how bad's the hangover?" Santana asked over the sound of water hitting mental.

"It's quite unpleasant," Rachel replied honestly.

Santana laughed at her wording, "Yeah as a rule they generally fucking suck." After another minute or so of silence Santana tried to broach last night's subject with her.

"So, uh, do you want to talk about it?" Rachel was unsure of what Santana was referring to,

"Talk about what?"

"About what you said?" When she saw nothing but confusion on the girl's face she continued, "You know what you said last night? In the kitchen?" Still nothing.

"I'm sorry Santana I don't remember much about last night." Afraid that Santana was referring to some sort of humiliating remark she had made while inebriated Rachel then asked, "Oh no, did I do something embarrassing?"

Seeing that Rachel was starting to blush again, the girl in the red and white PJs quickly reassured her friend.

"No nothing like that." Rachel let out a breath in relief.

"What did I say?"

Not wanting to upset the girl Santana tried to dismiss her previous inquiry, "It's not important."

"If it wasn't important then why did you ask?" Weren't hungover individuals not suppose to employ logic.

"Um…" Santana tried to think of a believable lie.

"There you two are!" Thank God for Brittany, Santana thought.

xxxxxx

As Rachel slowly sipped her Gatorade next to Puck the rest of the group gave them a play by play of the night before – apparently Puck didn't remember much either.

"Then Quinn told Finn that he was stupid for thinking Drizzle was a good name for a baby," Mercedes said enthusiastically.

"How did Finn handle that?" Rachel asked concerned.

"He seemed kind of sad, but like not at her," Brittany answered.

"Sad for her," Tina helped.

"Where is Quinn?" Rachel inquired seeing that she was the only female gleek missing, "Is she still sleeping?"

"She didn't stay over. Finn tried to take her home after she basically passed out," Kurt supplied.

"Tried?"

"Yeah no one was there when he drove to her house and he didn't know where they kept the spare so he just took her to our house. He let me know he gave her my bed."

Rachel, still curious as to what Santana had meant in the backyard, implored further, "Was there anything else?"

"Well you tried to hook up with a bunch of us," Mercedes admitted.

"I did what?" She cried, chocking on her Gatorade.

"Apparently when mixed with tequila you turn into Brittany." Rachel was mortified.

"Yay!" Brittany thought it was a compliment.

"Did anyone take me up on that offer?" the diva asked hesitantly. Mercedes let her know that Sam made out with her for a while but that was it. Santana noticed two things after Rachel learned of her PG-13 moment with trouty mouth. One, Puck's face no longer looked green and sick; instead, the only other boy in the room looked pissed. Second, Rachel was not handling her humiliation well. Not wanting the hungover tenn to cry or anything Santana tied to calm her down.

"Relax, you guys just kissed." Rachel covered her face with her hands, trying to hide her blush.

"How am I going to be able to look him in the eye on Monday?"

"He seemed to enjoy it, so I don't think you have anything to worry about." That didn't help cool Rachel's blushing or Puck's anger.

xxxxxx

On Saturday morning Quinn woke up under soft warm red covers. Her head hurt and the sun coming through the curtain was not helping. When she heard soft snores coming from the floor she looked down to find Finn in an old sleeping bag.

"Finn," she whispered. The snores continued. Rolling her eyes, she leaned over and gave him a good shake

"Finn." Nothing.

"Finn," she hissed with a hard two handed shove.

"I'm up. I'm up," the tall boy said, scrunching his eyes. When he saw Quinn looking down at him he let out a soft 'Hey.'

"Where are we?" she asked keeping her voice down.

Finn looked around, "Kurt's room," he then added, "Your mom wasn't home," to help explain why she wasn't home.

"She's visiting my sister in Cincinnati," Quinn replied, even though it didn't really matter.

"Oh, well when no one answered so I figured you could take Kurt's room since he's at Brit's." Quinn nodded but the pain in her head made her stop.

"Why are you on the floor?"

"You were crying," he recounted softly.

"Oh…" Quinn looked away, but when she felt a large hand come down over hers she looked back at her boyfriend.

"You miss Beth." It didn't happen often, but sometimes Finn could be perceptive.

"Today's her birthday." With that Finn got up off the floor and slid into bed with Quinn and just held her as she cried into his t-shirt.

xxxxxx

"How are you feeling, Noah?" Rachel and Puck were alone in the kitchen, the rest of the teens were either helping pick up the mess in the living room or showering.

"Hungover," he answered gruffly.

"That's not exactly what I meant," she started tentatively, "Today's Beth's birthday."

"I know that, Berry," was his harsh reply.

Pushing on Rachel once again tried to offer her friendship, "I just thought you'd like to talk about it."

Puck sighed in frustration, "Not with you."

"Oh…" That hurt.

"Well I'm going to go see if Brittany needs help cleaning up." Rachel scampered out of the room.

Once she was sure Rachel had left the room, Santana who had been leaning on the door frame that connected the kitchen to the dining room, pushed off the wall and walked over to the boy by the counter.

"That was pretty dick of you" Santana said once she was sure Rachel

"Not now, Satan." Puck wasn't in the mood to deal with anyone. His daughter was a year old today and he had nothing to show for it.

Unfazed by his tone, Santana joked, "Ah uh uh. Slave for a year, remember?"

"I'm serious, San, I'm not in the mood."

"Look, asshole," she wasn't joking anymore, "I know you're hurting, but just maybe that girl you just brushed off is too."

Puck shook his head, "I can't talk to her about it."

"Why not?"

"She looks just like her."

Santana was confused, "Like Beth?"

"No, Shelby," he admitted, "Sometimes it's all I see when I look at her. The woman who took my daughter." It didn't happen often. He avoided Rachel for a month after Shelby had signed the papers because she looked so much like her. It wasn't hard because the school year was ending and without Glee they didn't really see much of each other. But, he got over it, or so he thought. The old misplaced resentment began to rear its ugly head more and more as Regionals neared.

"That's not fair, Puck."

"I know it's not, but I can't help it, especially today."

xxxxxx

"Hey want to stop by the Lima Bean before I drop you off?" Santana asked as Rachel entered her car.

"Alright." Rachel figured she could grab a veggie wrap and save it for dinner. As they waited for their number to be called, Rachel decided she try solving the mystery one more time.

"Can you please tell me what I said last night?"

"You kept asking if I wanted you." Santana stated honestly.

"Oh. OH…Santana while you are a very beautiful woman and I am very open about sexual activities I am not attracted to you in a sexual manner," Rachel rambled on.

"Thanks, Berry," Santana smiled, "but you weren't hitting on me."

"I wasn't?" That didn't make sense to Rachel.

"Well at first you were, when we were in the living room," the cheerio explained, "But not in the kitchen."

"Well then what was I doing?" Rachel pressed

"Lopez!" The uniformed woman by the espresso machines yelled. The two girls but a pause on their conversation while Santana went to grab her iced coffee with extra Splenda. When she returned, Rachel looked at her expectantly.

"I think you were talking about Shelby."Rachel did not expect that.

"What makes you think that?"

"When I finally said yes you asked 'why didn't she?'" When Rachel didn't say anything Santana tried to get a reaction out of her, "Rachel?"

Rachel shook her head, "Sorry, it's just that I saw her yesterday, at Regionals."

Santana put her drink down. "Why didn't you say anything?"

She just shrugged, "It was during my solo; I couldn't."

"Why not after?" Santana asked, a bit upset that Rachel had lied to her on the bus.

"Everyone was so happy; I wasn't going to ruin the mood with my mother-issues," she explained as if she was a burden. Santana let her know she should have told someone about it.

"I tried broaching the subject with Noah this afternoon, but he was unreceptive." Rachel offered. Santana pretended it was the first time she was hearing this.

"Don't take it personal, that's just how he deals with shit."

"But he should talk to someone about it."

"So should you."

"I didn't give up a child."

"But you basically gave up a mom," Santana didn't want her to play down her own sadness, "I mean you are the reason Shelby even knew about Beth in the first place right?" Santana meant that Rachel, like Puck and Quinn, had actively sought to do the right thing, even though it meant doing something very hard and painful. Rachel didn't take it that way. She thought Santana was accusing her of something.

"Can you take me home now?" Unprepared for the sudden change in Rachel's attitude, the Latina had to do a double take.

"Woah. What'd I say?"

"Nothing, I just want to go home."

They arrived at the empty Berry household ten minutes later but before Rachel could get out of her car Santana locked the doors. Rachel tried the handle and when she found it locked he shook it again.

"Child safety locks."

"Please unlock the door, Santana."

"Not until you tell me what the fuck happened in the coffee shop." Rachel decided that if Santana could be blunt then so could she.

"It's obvious that you think I am to blame for Shelby's adoption." Santana looked at her as if she had lost her mind.

"I what?"

"You blame me," she huffed

"When did I say that?"

"You said I was the reason Shelby knew about Beth," Rachel supplied her. That was enough for Santana to grasp Rachel's crazy troll logic.

"That wasn't an allegation," the taller girl explained, "It was a fact. You knew Shelby wanted a daughter and even though you wanted her to pick you, you told her about Beth." Rachel looked away, still hearing the (imagined) condemnation. Santana sighed. She wasn't a fan of feelings and girl talk and she'd done a lot of both since befriending Rachel. Fed up with their roundabout conversation, Santana forced Rachel to look at her.

"You did a good thing. Yes, Puck and Quinn gave up their daughter, but you gave up your mom. I'm saying that you get to feel sad today too." Finally understanding what her friend meant, Rachel nodded.

"Thank you, Santana."

xxxxxx 1 week later xxxxxx

Will could not believe this was happening. Principal Figgins had called him into his office ten minutes ago and when he arrived he found that Figgins was not alone; Shelby Corcoran was seated across from the principal holding what appeared to be a resume in her hands. Figgins informed Will that he had just hired the beautiful Ms. Corcoran to act as co-chair for the McKinley High glee club.

"Ms. Corcoran was responsible for leading Carmel High to four consecutive National titles, William."

"I know, and while I am sure she is an amazing director, I just feel like it would throw the kids off so late in the school year."

"William, a National title means more than just a trophy. It means money. If your glee club comes in third McKinley High receives $1,000. Second place is $3,000 and the winning school gets $5,000. Five. Thousand. Dollars, William, this is money your glee club will need next year: costumes, away trips. It means recognition, booster club donations. Ms. Corcoran knows what it takes to get these things."

"It's just-"

"This isn't a discussion. Ms. Corcoran is in. You're glee club practices this afternoon, correct?"

xxxxxx

When Will introduce Shelby as the new co-chair he couldn't meet Rachel's eyes, which was good because she was looking at him as if he had literally stab her in the back.

"Ok guys, first off congratulations on your win at Regionals. I saw your performance and I must say the New Directions have some real potential, but if you hope to even place at Nationals you're going to have to step it up. A lot."

"We're going to keep 'Winter Winds', but 'Shark in the Water' is out and so is 'Reflections'. You're very lucky you were the only group that chose that song; it screams show choir competition."

"Will tells me that Kurt has recently returned to the group so today and tomorrow we're going to go over 'Winter Winds' so that we can work on blending Kurt's voice into the song smoothly." Shelby let the kids know that they would also be practicing the song 21 Guns by Greenday next week.

Will finally got a turn to speak, "In two weeks we'll be holding auditions for solo numbers so those of you who wish to be up for consideration come prepared the rest of you can sit in the audience.

The rest of rehearsal dragged by. Rachel could barely concentrate; she just kept looking at the clock, which seemed to be mocking her. When Mr. Schuester finally excused them, Rachel was out the door so fast that he wouldn't have been surprised to see scorch marks on the floor.

Puck took off after her, "Berry!" She continued as if she hadn't heard him.

"Berry, wait up!"

Puck caught up to her and stepped in front of her, "Rachel, stop!"

"What do you need, Puck? My fathers are expecting me." Lie; they weren't even in Ohio.

Puck, hands still on her shoulders, as if he were afraid she'd bolt the second he let go, took a breath and then let his request rush out, "Don't say anything to Schue. Please. I need Shelby to be here."

"I don't understand what you want me to do." The woman was obviously here. Rachel was painfully aware of that fact. She had been in the choir room for one hour, fourteen minutes, and thirty-two seconds.

Puck ignored her interruption and continued, "This is my chance. She's bound to bring Beth to a couple of practices and I need to see my daughter. Please, Rachel. Please don't say anything to Schue. Please, let her stay.

Rachel didn't respond. She just nodded, stepped back out of his old, and walked away.

The rest of the week wasn't as tense as Shelby's first day at McKinley had been. Most of the New Directions actually liked the woman. She knew what she was talking about and after three practices they started to feel like their team would be well prepared by the time Nationals rolled around.

It even seemed as if Rachel had gotten over her initial shock. The short soprano would go to practice, listen attentively, and make any alterations requested; she did all this without complaint – Will and the kids were impressed. She'd then go home to an empty house and cry or workout on her elliptical with the music on full blast. After the first practice she had gone straight to her room, grabbed the gold-star glass sitting in the back of her closet, and hurled it against the wall causing bits of glass to scatter across the floor. She tossed the necklace into the trash.

xxxxxx

As Will and Shelby waited for the first kid to audition, the singers not performing made their way inside the auditorium. After the two chairs quieted the kids down, they let Santana know they were ready for her. The crowd responded well to her rendition of Amy Winehouse's 'Back to Black'. Kurt followed with 'Some People' from the musical Gypsie, the girls cheered louder than the boys when he finished. The male soprano's sassy best friend then killed 'Try a Little Tenderness'. After the crowd had calmed down, Will told Rachel she could start.

_Dancing bears, painted wings,_

_Things I almost remember_

_And a song someone sings,_

_Once upon a December_

_Someone holds me safe and warm_

_Horses prance through a silver storm_

_Figures dancing gracefully_

_Across my memory_

_Someone holds me safe and warm_

_Horses prance through a silver storm_

_Figures dancing gracefully_

_Across my memory_

_Far away, long ago_

_Glowing dim as an ember_

_Things my heart used to know_

_Things it yearns to remember_

_And a song_

_Someone sings_

_Once upon a December_

Will, Shelby, and the rest of the audience clapped.

"Very nice, Rachel. Well I guess if that's it-"

"I want to try, Mr. Schue." Puck informed the man. The boy really had no interest in getting to sing a solo at Nationals. He just wanted Rachel to listen to him. She'd basically been ignoring him since their talk in the hallway two weeks ago; she was civil to him and spoke to him if mandated by glee or class, but every time he'd try to broach the subject of Shelby she'd say she was fine and quickly excuse herself. So he figured a song would be the best way to get her to hear him.

The song didn't say everything he wanted her to know. Apparently no one had composed a track yet with the lyrics "sorry I was a complete asshole for totally dismissing your feelings. I just wanted to see my daughter and I didn't care if that meant you'd have to suck up seeing the woman who gave birth to you who basically you told me didn't want you after meeting you." But, it did let her know that he could tell she was in pain. Hopefully after she heard it she'd be willing to sit down and talk to him.

"Alright, Puck. The floor is yours." The band didn't look too happy; they hated when the glee kids assumed they knew the instrumental version to every song. When Puck hopped onto the stage, he walked over to Greg, the guitar player and after a few seconds the sophomore shrugged off the strap of his guitar and handed it over to the older boy.

"Be careful with it," Greg muttered.

Puck strummed the A chord a few times and began:

_Had a bad day again _

_She said I would not understand _

_She left a note and said "I'm sorry, I had a bad day again." _

_She spilled her coffee, broke her shoelace. _

_Smeared the lipstick on her face. _

_Slammed the door and said "I'm sorry, I had a bad day again." _

_And she swears there's nothing wrong _

_I hear her playing that same old song _

_She puts me off and puts me on _

_And had a bad day again _

_She said I would not understand _

_She left a note that said, "I'm sorry, I had a bad day again." _

xxxxxx

The following practice the club was eager to hear who would be getting a solo at Nationals.

"After careful consideration, Mr. Schuester and I have decided that the solo will be going to Rachel."

"That's so unfair! It's just 'cuz she's your daughter!" The minute it was out of her mouth, Mercedes regretted it. She doesn't even know why she said it. Well, yes she does, she wanted the solo. But she can admit that Rachel had done a great job. Her outburst was the first time anyone in the room had acknowledged Shelby's relationship with Rachel aloud.

Rachel's not upset. Not really. She's just very uncomfortable; and, she's not the only one. The room is quiet. You could literally hear the seconds tick away on the clock. It takes a full thirty-eight seconds for someone to finally say something.

"Mercedes, this is a team," Will opted out of describing them as a family, "And when one of your teammates is awarded a solo or praise of any sort, you should congratulate them. I think you owe Rachel and Ms. Corcoran an apology." Mercedes does so eagerly; she didn't mean to say it and she wishes she could just rewind the clock backwards, But since she can't, she tries to muster up the most sincere 'I'm sorry' possible. Both women accept her apology quickly; they want to move on before the situation becomes even tenser.

"Well," Shelby states, turning her back to the group to gather up the sheet music, "Now that we have three numbers chosen, we just need one more." Unlike Sectionals and Regionals, the competing twenty teams sang two songs in the first round at Nationals, and, if they scored high enough to make top ten, they sang another two in the final round.

"Alright guys, I thought, and Shelby agreed, that we would take your suggestions into consideration for the closing piece." The unbearable silence of earlier was immediately replaced by loud shouts, all the kids wanting the two directors to pick their choice.

Will walked to the board and grab a marker. "Guys, guys! One at a time. We'll go around the room. Starting with Artie."

"Tighten Up, Black Keys."

"Brittany."

"Blow, Ke$ha."

"Santana."

"Twice Lost, Berry." Rachel gave her friend a death glare. Will shrugged his shoulders, assuming he was simply unfamiliar with the song and band, he wrote her motion on the board. The cheerleader knew the song wasn't going to get picked, but she hoped Rachel got the hint: she needed to talk to her mother.

As the final minutes of practice winded down the group voted on the three finalists, as narrowed down by Will and Shelby: "No One", "Running up that Hill", and "Stand By Me."

"Running up that Hill only got two votes (Finn and Sam). "Stand By Me" came in second with five (Artie, Puck, Lauren, Quinn, and Santana) and Mercedes' choice of "No One" by Alicia Keys got six. Rachel originally planned on voting for "Stand By Me" but she felt bad that Mercedes hadn't gotten the solo – not bad enough to give it up though – so she raised her hand for "No One" instead when she saw that it would need one more vote to pass.

It was settled, the two preliminary round songs at Nationals would be "Once Upon a December" and "Winter Winds"; and, if the New Directions advanced to the finals, they would sing "21 Guns" and "No One", Mercedes and Artie would share the last number.

xxxxxx

**Song lyrics don't belong to me! Once Upon a December is from the Disney film Anastasia and the song Puck sings is Bad Day by Fuel. Thanks for reviewing/favoriting/alerting. PS gleekgenica I also thought this was going to be a two-shot, but then it just went a whole other direction – my love for drama and angst wouldn't let me end it so soon. **


	4. Chapter 4

The New Directions had been practicing their routine for Nationals tirelessly since Shelby Corcoran had been hired to act as co-director of the McKinley High glee club. They still had a month until the competition, but even with thirty-days to go they felt ready to go. While musically the New Directions were golden, the same could not be said about the emotional health about some of its members.

Puck and Quinn were at each other's throats every other practice, and as a result so were Puck and Finn. The two teenage parents got into an argument a few days after the set list had been finalized. Shelby had taken Beth to one of the rehearsals because her usual sitter called in sick. It was the best day of Puck's life. Beth was more beautiful than he remembered. Her short dark hair framed her face, she had big green eyes like her parents, and she was always smiling; and, when Shelby let him hold her during a ten-minute break, so was Puck. Quinn however was not feeling it. She was stoic the rest of practice that day and when Will called it a day she calmly asked Finn to wait for her outside while she spoke to Shelby, in private. After Puck found out that Quinn asked Shelby not to bring Beth to any more practices, he had yelled at her and Quinn had yelled right back. The two had been snapping at one another for every little thing ever since.

Seeing Beth had also thrown Rachel for an emotional loop as well. When she saw how great Shelby was with her, Rachel knew she had done the right thing by telling her about Quinn's delivery last year and she's glad she did it, but she also felt this strange sort of resentment towards this beautiful little girl who had never consciously or actively done anything to hurt her.

Things were also a bit tense between Rachel and Santana from time to time. The Latina had been pestering her to speak to Shelby for a while now but every time she did Rachel would simply shift the conversation back on to Santana and whether or not she planed to inform Brittany of her romantic feelings towards her. Even though they were both sore subjects for them, the continued bringing up the sensitive topics because they both believed the other needed to deal with their issues.

As for Rachel and Puck, the two had slowly worked on rebuilding the friendship they had developed after her plunge into the ice earlier in the year. After cornering her outside of the auditorium the day of his solo, Puck had gotten her to listen to his actual apology, which, being Rachel, she accepted. Santana wasn't as forgiving as the short soprano. Afraid Puck was going to revert back into asshole mode; she didn't leave the two alone often, so the three had been spending a lot of time together. Brittany would also tag along, happy to share her best friend with Rachel and Puck. Artie had been part of the little group until a couple of days ago, but ever since he called Brittany stupid for defending Santana, who the boy could easily tell harbored romantic feelings for his girlfriend, he had been keeping his distance from the trio. Puck kind of felt bad for the kid but the dude had made Brittany cry; it was like kicking a kitten. As for the remaining pair's constant presence, it was beginning to become a bit of a problem for the two Jewish teens, whose friendship has started to take on a more intimate characteristic.

"Rachel would you mind staying back for a minute?"

It was Friday afternoon and Glee had just ended. Most of the kids had made their way to their cars but Will, Puck, Santana, Brittany, Rachel, and Sam still remained. Puck and Sam who had been talking with Schue about all the shit going down in OSU while Brittany and Santana were trying to convince her to sleep over Santana's house. When Shelby's voice made its way through the choir room the excited laughter being exchanged between the remaining kids died down.

"Alright, Shelby." Puck walked back over to Rachel and whispered in her ear if she wanted him to stay. She thanked him for the offer, but told him she would be fine and that he should probably get Sam home so that he could watch over his younger siblings. Puck nodded and he discretely ran his hand down her arm – that was new, Santana thought (apparently Puck needed work on his discretion) - letting it come to a final resting stop on her hand. Before he finally made his way to leave he gave a reassuring squeezed and promised to call her later.

"So Britt and I can expect you at seven?" Santana asked before the two best friends left her alone with the two choir directors.

"Yes, please let me know if you'd like me to bring something."

Only Rachel, Shelby, and Mr. Schuester remained.

"We'll see you Monday, Will," Shelby said, letting the man know that this was a private conversation.

xxxxxx

No one knew what Shelby and Rachel talked about last Friday, all Puck knew was that on Monday Shelby had asked him to stay behind after practice and told him that if he wanted he could come over from time to time to see Beth. She made it clear to him that she was Beth's parent and that they would need to set up some ground rules, but if he promised to respect her conditions than she was fine with him having a relationship with the infant. Puck looked at Shelby as if she had hung the stars. When he gave up Beth over a year ago he never thought he'd see her again and then when Shelby showed up as choir director he thought he'd get to appreciate his little girl from afar, but this, this gift was the beyond his wildest dreams.

"Thank you, Shelby. I mean Ms. Corcoran. Thank you so much. I promise whatever rules you have I'll follow them," he rushed out.

Puck quickly found Rachel and let her know what Shelby had said. She was happy for him. She saw how delighted he had been that one practice when he got to hold Beth, and she could see that same joy behind his eyes again now.

"That's fantastic, Noah!"

"I'm going over today, after practice. Should I bring her something? What do fourteen month olds like? Teddy bears? Are bears too scary? What about dogs? Dogs are good right? Loyal. Cute. What if she already has a stuffed dog though?" Rachel wasn't the only person who rambled when they were nervous.

"Noah," she said placing a hand on his arm, "Relax. I'm sure Beth will adore you, dog or no dog."

"Really?" He didn't look too sure.

She nodded, "Yes." Puck looked down and then his eyes lifted back up to meet hers when he hesitantly asked, "Do you think you could come with me?"

"Oh Noah…" She I don't know. I really don't think-"

Puck shook his head, "Yea you're right. I'm sorry." Now Rachel felt guilty, the boy obviously wanted support.

"Noah-"

"No, no," He interrupted her, "It's cool." He meant it. He knew that this was something he had to do on his own and he shouldn't have asked that of Rachel. When he saw that she wasn't convinced he added, "Seriously."

Rachel smiled and leaned in to hug him. Once her arms were around him she whispered in his ear, "She's going to love you, Noah."

xxxxxx

Even though Puck was beyond excited when he arrived at Shelby's car, he was also incredibly nervous. He was afraid the little girl wouldn't like him or that Shelby would change her mind. He took a couple deep breaths before finally exiting his parked truck. When he knocked on the door his anxiety increased when no one answered right away, but after what felt like hours to him, the door opened.

"Sorry, _somebody_ spilled juice all over her shirt," Shelby explained. The older woman bent down and picked up the toddler who was standing on little legs grabbing the back of her mother's jeans.

"Remember Noah, Beth? From Glee?" The little girl just stared at him.

"Hey, Beth. I got this for you," he said revealing a stuffed blue dog.

"Woo woo!" Beth clapped in excitement, "Woo woo!" It seemed the toy had won her over.

"That's what she calls dogs," Shelby informed him.

"She's talking?" Puck didn't know much about human development and he couldn't really remember his little sister's hallmark moments so to learn that Beth was starting to do all these things blew his mind.

Shelby smiled, "It's just sounds mostly, but she knows a few words."

Beth dragged the strange man to her play pin as fast as her little chubby legs could carry her and started hold up different toys while "telling" him the names of each of them. Her favorite seemed to be a pink stroller she called woah-la. The little girl grabbed the doll currently situated in the seat of the "woah-la" and threw it to the floor. She then gently placed her new stuffed blue dog in the empty spot.

Shelby watched as Noah carried out a nonsensical conversation with the toddler. The little girl really seemed to enjoy this tall tanned man who payed some much attention to her. After a couple hours passed Puck reluctantly put his jacket on and got ready to go. Shelby, carrying a sleepy Beth, walked him to the door.

"Give Noah a kiss bu-bye." Beth puckered up her lips and gave Puck a sloppy wet baby kiss on his cheek.

"I lob you," the fourteen month old said unprompted.

Greatest. Day. Ever.

xxxxxx

Friday evening found Puck back at Shelby's. An hour after Glee the new co-director called Noah and informed him that her usual babysitter had to cancel for the evening and she thought she'd see if he wanted to sub in for Samantha, who charged an arm and a leg for her services. Puck immediately agreed; he figured Rachel would understand if he canceled their plans to go see Arthur at the local cinema.

xxxxxx

Rachel was in her room, frantically going through her closet looking for her yellow capped-sleeved blouse. Her bed was littered with outfits that hadn't made the cut. She and Puck were going to see Arthur tonight. Alone. Santana and Brittany had gone out of town to go see some rap artist playing at some bar in Cinci. They invited Rachel and Puck but they both said they couldn't get out of going to Temple. It was a lie, but the two were excited that they finally got to have a night to themselves. When Rachel spotted the item she had been searching for she all but ripped it off the hanger.

_Oh, sweet Caroline. Good times never seem so good._

Rachel searched for her cell phone as Noah's ringtone rang out. She found it under one of her red skirts and quickly pressed talk.

"Hello, Noah!" she practically yelled into the phone.

"Hey, Rach. You got a minute."

"Of course, Noah. I _have _a minute." Rachel was always trying to correct his grammar.

"Do you think we could see Arthur another time? I can't tonight." He asked a bit timidly.

"Did something happen? Are you all right? Is it your mother? Sarah?"

"No, nothing like that," Shit. Now he felt bad about canceling on her, "Shelby's sitter backed out last minute and so I told her I'd fill in."

"Oh."

"I'm really sorry, but-"

"No need to apologize, Noah. I was actually just about to call you to request a rain check as well," she fib (poorly), "I believe I caught daddy's bug and I think it best to aggressively fight the infection while it's weak."

"You sure?" Puck didn't believe her.

"Yes. I'm not even dressed. I'm just lying on the sofa waiting for dad to bring me some vegetable soup."

xxxxxx

Shelby's house was pretty quiet by the time Puck heard a car pull up in the driveway. He made his way to the window and was surprised to see Shelby stepped out of the passenger side an old hatchback, a very familiar old hatchback. When Puck first arrived he barely registered Shelby had even left, his attention solely focused on the little brunette in Dora the Explorer pajamas. However, now that Beth was asleep and his attention was able to wander, Puck discovered that Shelby had gone out on a date with Mr. Schuester. The two adults seemed to be discussing something before Shelby smiled and turned towards her house. Puck quickly retreated back onto the large chair in the living room trying to act as if he was deeply engaged in the basketball game that was playing on TNT.

"Hey, Ms. Corcoran," he said softly.

"Hi, Puck," Shelby returned as she locked the door and placed her keys on the hook, "Beth asleep?"

"Yeah, I put her down a few hours ago."

Puck made his way to the front door to head out. When he saw Shelby take out her wallet, he stopped her. When she protested, he told her it was nonnegotiable. He wasn't taking her money. Before he left however he finally asked her something that he'd been trying to figure out since Monday.

"Why'd you change your mind?" When she didn't seem to understand what he was talking about he added, "About me and Beth?"

"A couple reasons," Shelby sighed as if she had always expected him to ask the question eventually.

"Like?" He cursed his curiosity. He thought the woman was going to revoke his privileges at any moment.

"You saved my daughter."

"What?" That was not the answer he expected.

"Rachel told me you pulled her out of the lake this winter. And performed CPR on her. You gave me one daughter and saved the other, I figured I owed it to you to let you at least meet yours."

xxxxxx

Rachel was on the couch wallowing in self-pity while watching Funny Girl when she heard someone pounding on the door. At first she was afraid it was a rapist or a murderer but when she heard the person on the other side of the door call her name she recognized it as Puck's.

"Noah what are you doing here?" she questioned as she opened the door, "It's almost twelve."

Puck didn't answer. Instead, he stepped forward, wrapped one hand around Rachel's waist, the other cupped the side of her face, and then crashed his lips against hers.


	5. Chapter 5

Unprepared for Puck's actions, Rachel merely stood there, eyes wide, as the young man's lips pressed against hers, but after recovering over the initial shock she melted into him. Her hands slowly came up around his neck encouraging Puck to deepen the kiss.

"Eh hem," Hiram Berry cleared his throat. Busted. The two teens broke away from each other once they realized they were no longer alone. Rachel was blushing and Puck, while somewhat afraid for his life, was smirking, although he was trying his best to cover it up.

"Rachel. Noah." Unsurprisingly, the father did not sound or look too happy to find his daughter making out with a boy while standing outside on their front door mat under the cover of nightfall.

"Hi, Dad."

"Hey, Mr. Berry."

Deciding to ignore the Mohawked boy, man addressed his daughter, "Rachel what's going on here? It's midnight." For all of Rachel's years of acting classes and the hours she'd spent memorizing every minute detail of Barbra's films, the girl could not think of anything to say to explain away the situation. Seeing that the flushed brunette was speechless – Puck gave himself a mental high-five – the baritone stepped in.

"It's my fault, Mr. Berry," taking the blame off of the girl, "Rachel didn't know I was coming."

"Well, like I said, Noah, it's quite late. I'm sure Abigail is wondering where you are," the man said, blatantly hinting that it was time for Puck to go home.

"Yes, sir." He then looked back at Rachel, "Night, Rach."

Finally finding her voice, she managed to squeak out, "Goodnight, Noah."

xxxxxx

Rachel was furiously knocking on Santana's door first thing Saturday morning. She knew her friend would most likely hurt her for waking her up so early, especially since the Latina probably arrived home a few hours ago from Cincinnati, so that's why she had come bearing coffee and blueberry scones.

"What!" Santana screamed as she flung the door open. Rachel's rehearsed apology and summary of last night died on her lips when she took in her friend's appearance. Even though Rachel expected the typical early morning dishevelment, the Cheerio's eyes were red and puff, which Rachel could immediately recognize as a symptom of a long cry, and the skinny girl just looked utterly devastated.

"What's wrong?" Rachel asked.

"It's 7 am on a Saturday and I'm awake," Santana stated as if she had no idea what Rachel was talking about.

"Santana. What happened?"

"I told Brittany I loved her." Rachel smiled, proud that the girl had finally confessed her feelings. But, then she remembered Santana's downtrodden features.

"And…" Rachel prompted.

"And she told me she loved me too." Ok Rachel was confused. Why was the beautiful teen so sad then?

"Isn't that a good thing?" Santana shook her head.

"She said that now that she was broken up with Artie we could be together."

"I'm sorry, Santana, I still don't understand what's wrong." Rachel didn't know what she was missing.

"I told her I wasn't ready for everyone to know."

"How did she take that?"

"She flipped." Rachel was surprised; she didn't think the ditzy cheerleader could get mad.

"We were halfway to Cinci listening to some lame oldies station and 'Songbird' came on the radio. We sang, exchanged 'I love yous', and then after I told her I didn't want people to know about us yet she just lost it," Santana said closing her eyes, reliving the moment, "She said that she was tired of people being embarrassed by her and that if I couldn't handle it then she'd find someone who could."

"We didn't even make it to the concert. She made me take her back home. I tried apologizing, said 'I just needed time,' but she wasn't having it. She was so angry." Rachel risked pulling the taller girl into a hug.

xxxxxx

Rachel and Puck hadn't spoken since Friday, technically Saturday; the diva had spent the majority of her weekend trying to console her friend. By Sunday evening the two girls had agreed that Brittany's reaction was the result of a misunderstanding. After making Santana go through the story several times, Rachel concluded that Brittany in all likely hood thought that Santana's request for secrecy was because she believed that Santana was ashamed of her, not because Santana wasn't ready to come out as gay. At first Santana thought the shorter teen was simply lying to make her feel better, but then Rachel explained that Brittany had just broken up with Artie for calling her stupid and while she loved Santana her feelings for Artie and the hurt she must have felt when he insulted her were probably still lurking. Santana decided to agree with Rachel, the alternative just made her heart ache.

On Monday Rachel left Santana to deal with Brittany while she confronted Puck. She hadn't had much time to analyze their midnight kiss, but now it was all she could think about. It obviously wasn't the first time their lips had met, not even the first time this month, but it had certainly felt like the most passionate kiss they'd ever exchange in all of their history together, at least to Rachel did. She wasn't sure how he had managed to make her feel so important and beautiful in under fifteen seconds, but he had and she was curious as to what had prompted him to do so.

She spotted him by his locker and quickly made her way over to him.

"Good morning, Noah," she said brightly. Puck looked over to his right and smiled when he saw her. Just like Friday night, instead of responding, he leaned down and captured her lips with his. While not as intense as the last, the kiss made Rachel's toes curl. When he broke away Rachel ran her tongue over her lips and then bit the bottom one to keep her smile under control.

"I've been waiting to do that again since Friday night," his smile good.

"I'm glad you did." Santana seemed to be rubbing off on Rachel.

"Yeah?" he kept the flirtation going.

Now it was Rachel's turn to forgo giving verbal response. She pulled him in by gripping the button sides of his letterman jacket and let her lips be parted by his. Forgetting they were not alone, she gave a low moan.

"Rachel! Puck!" Will Schuester's voice reminded the two were they were, "Break it up you two." If felt like déjà vu to the teens. They both apologized simultaneously.

"Sorry, Mr. Schue."

"Sorry, Mr. Schuester."

The twin smiles on their faces let the Spanish teacher know their apologies were insincere.

"Get to class you guys." As if on cue the bell rang.

xxxxxx

"And a five, six, seven, eight." The New Directions were rehearsing the dance to Winter Winds for what felt like the hundredth time this week. It was tricky at first with an uneven number of people but then Lauren informed them that States for wrestling fell on the same day and push come to shove Lauren would choose wrestling over show choir any day. So they were back two twelve members and even though they missed her, it was easier to waltz with an even number.

_And my head told my heart _

_"Let love grow" _

"And turn, turn, dip," Shelby's instructions boomed over the instruments, "grab the waist and lift."

_But my heart told my head _

_"This time no" _

"Spin her out and change." The kids were exhausted. As D-day neared practices had become longer and more intense. Say what you want about Will Schuester, but the man knew when to loosen up. Shelby's approach, the kids soon found, was not so easy going. The man tried to bring up the issue with his co-director a few days ago after Finn, too tired to really pay attention to what he was doing, had spun Rachel too hard sending her crashing to the ground. The girl was fine, just a bit shaken, but Will had to physically restrain Puck from going after his tall, clumsy friend.

"_Noah, I'm fine. It was an accident," Rachel tried to calm him down. _

"_I'm so sorry, Rachel!" Finn apologized for the umpteenth time. _

"_Don't worry, Finn, I'm fine," she reassured him, then she added, "Fine, Noah", hoping to get through to her boyfriend – yep, they made it official. Puck finally calmed down, but Schue wouldn't let him go until the teen promised he wouldn't do anything. _

"_Lets take five, you guy," Schuester announced, giving everyone time to regroup. _

As Shelby continued to bark out the dance routine Santana noticed Brittany break away from Mike, her dance partner for the verse, she followed the blonde with her eyes as she walked to her bag. The cheerleader, whose back faced to those still dancing, pulled out her inhaler and brought it to her mouth, pressing down to release her medicine. As she held her breath for a few seconds as required, Shelby's voice rang out.

"Stop! Stop!" The music ceased.

"Brittany! Who gave you permission to-" And Santana was off, "She's has asthma, bitch!" The blonde's angry (secret) girlfriend could care less that she was cursing at a teacher; nobody spoke to her girlfriend that way. Santana had a few more choice words to share with the woman, but Will cut her off trying to somehow salvage the situation. He couldn't. Everyone was sent home, except for Santana who was told that she would have to stay behind.

Rachel, Puck, and Brittany waited outside the choir room eavesdropping on Santana's reprimand as best they could through a closed door. They managed to gather that Santana would not be getting a detention or any sort of punishment it seemed due to the fact that they needed her to be at rehearsals not locked up in some classroom thinking about what she had done. However, Shelby told her that if it happened again the New Directions could easily modify any dance number to accommodate eleven people instead.

xxxxxx

"That fucking bitch!" Santana had been ranting since the four got to Brittany's house, which was once again parent free for the week.

The three other teens just watched as the Latina paced up and down the living room, long since giving up trying to pacify the girl. After five more minutes of multi-lingual swear words, Santana finally took a seat by Brittany on the armrest of the lounge chair she was sitting on.

"All better?" Puck laughed, earning him the evil eye from Santana and an elbow to the gut from his girlfriend who was curled up next to him on the couch.

"Are you okay, Santana?" Rachel asked concerned. Santana nodded and took Brittany's hand into hers – Puck and Rachel were the only people who knew (for certain) that the two girls were an official couple - and wrapped it around her waist as she gently fell onto the blonde's lap.

"I'm fine, but Shelby's an asshole." Rachel didn't say anything. Neither did Puck, even though he was the only one in the room who disagreed were his ex-girlfriend's assessment. The teens hung out for a while before Puck told them he had to bounce. It was Friday, one of the two days a week he got to spend with Beth the other was Saturday, also known as Willby date nights, but only to the seventeen-year-old father.

"Bye, babe. I'll call you tomorrow." He gave her a quick peck goodbye.

"Bye, Noah," she said sweetly. Once the three girls heard the door close, Santana turned to Rachel.

"You know weekends are for couples right? Have you two even been on a date?" Rachel's (best) friend was well aware that the short soprano was not as down with sharing her boyfriend with another woman (fourteen-month-old baby) as she pretended to be in his presence.

Rachel just shrugged, "We spend Saturday afternoons together, just the two of us; and some Fridays he comes over to watch a movie if it's not too late."

"Psh," Santana scoffed.

"It's fine, Santana. Noah loves spending time with his daughter. I'm not going to complain that my boyfriend isn't paying enough attention to me like some spoiled brat." That was the truth. Plus, it wasn't like Puck ignored her. Whenever they were together Puck made her feel like she was the only girl in the world.

xxxxxx

"Nono!" Beth was trying to get Puck's attention as he prepared her food.

"Be right there, Beth," he replied, as if she could understand him. He quickly finished putting the peas and carrots into the bowl and grabbed a baby spork for her.

"Nono!"

"Here we are. Dinner for the big girl," he smiled placing the bowl and fork in front of the toddler. Beth smiled back excited to show off her dexterity skills. Her chubby little fingers grabbed the spork and began trying to scoop up the green and orange items in her bowl. As she was eating Puck told her about his day, as he did every time he fed her. He was just in the middle of telling her about Santana's freak out – he kept it rated – when he heard a car door slam outside. Looking at his watch, Shelby had only been gone an hour so he was confused why she was back so soon.

"Don't call me!" the mother's voice made her way through the walls – she was definitely related to Rachel. Oh oh, trouble in paradise, Puck thought.

xxxxxx

Beth Corcoran was attending her second Glee rehearsal on Tuesday due to the fact that Samantha father was rushed to the hospital during lunch. Shelby let Quinn know before hand that she couldn't find anyone so last minute, the blonde thanked the woman for informing her and promised that she'd be okay. No one informed Rachel; well, Santana tried to text her, but she doubted the girl received it since her eyes were as wide as saucers when she finally entered the choir room and spotted the toddler. The first time Beth had visited the New Directions, Rachel had been sure to keep her distance, this time however Shelby's daughter got a good look at her.

When Beth laid eyes on Rachel she looked like someone had given her the best present ever: two moms. She didn't know how her mother could be two places at once, but she liked it.

"Mama!" The little girl clapped excitedly staring right at Rachel. Rachel kept calm. No storm out. No tears. Just wide eyes, which, after a moment, went back to their normal size. Finn noticed that Quinn was not handling this new development too well. The blonde cheerleader quietly slipped out of the room and her boyfriend followed.

"No, Beth, that's Rachel," Shelby corrected her daughter, "Ray-chel." The little girl didn't understand and just kept clapping her hands shouting "Mama! Mama!" Shelby tried to get her child under control.

"I'm sorry, Rachel."

"It's fine, Ms. Corcoran," Rachel said taking a seat next to Mike. Soon after she sat down Puck entered the room.

"Nono!" The little girl didn't think this day could get any better. Her mother had been cloned and she got to see Nono.

"Hey, Beth!" No one had told the father that his daughter would be visiting either. Beth squirmed in Shelby's arms reaching out for Puck. Shelby relented and handed her over. The self-proclaimed badass hoisted the toddler up so that her stomach was at his eye level and then he blew into her tummy, causing her to squeal in delight. Only five people in the room didn't look on at the exchange with total confusion – even though Will never went into Shelby's house after their dates he knew that Puck was acting as babysitter. Sensing their eyes on him, Puck turned around to face the group.

"What?" Those staring shook their heads and shrugged pretending that they weren't completely baffled by the fact that Beth and Puck had such a close relationship.

"Okay, let's get started," Will stated, not noticing that two members had left.

"Rachel, I was thinking we'd go through a rundown of all the numbers today – vocals only - starting with yours." Rachel nodded and stood up taking her place in the center of the room. Since the band was taking a break this afternoon, Will just pressed play on Rachel's portable ihome; she let the club borrow it whenever she knew the band would be unavailable. As the talented singer went through the song, Puck watched Beth's reaction. The fourteen month old was mesmerized by Rachel's voice. As Rachel swayed to the music Beth's eyes followed her and slowly began to droop, even as the music and Rachel grew louder in the middle. As the end of the song neared, Shelby's little girl was asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

Beth somehow managed to say asleep for a good forty-five minutes. Even though her presence upset Quinn and kind of freaked Rachel out for a bit, most of the kids loved having her around because Shelby wouldn't yell at them if she was holding the toddler. After Rachel's solo Quinn and Finn reentered the room quietly. The tall boy had somehow managed to convince his girlfriend to come back, but she made it clear to him that if Beth continued to call "Man-hands" mama she'd leave again.

After the kids went through an entire run through of all the songs, with little interruption – they had to start 21 Guns over seven times because Shelby wasn't happy with the transitions – Will told them they could take a ten minute break and that they'd finish up practice with a run down of what they could expect the rest of the week, which would find them in New York.

Just as the man dismissed them Beth started to stir. The little girl slowly opened her eyes as Quinn and Finn made their way out of the room. Puck told Shelby he could take her for a bit if she wanted to stretch her legs. Shelby passed her over and walked over to Will - the two adults kept it civil in front of the kids. Once Beth was secured in Puck's arms the rest of the kids went up to look at the little cutie; she loved the attention. The only person who wasn't crowding the newest New Direction was Rachel. She was near the group because she didn't want to seem antisocial, but she wasn't gushing over the brunette with sparkling green eyes. Santana had stayed by her at first, but Rachel could tell that even the HBIC wanted to play with the toddler so she let her know she would be fine if Santana hung out with Beth.

As Will and Shelby organized the itineraries they had made for the group by the piano Will chanced a glance over to his kids and saw that Rachel was off by herself. When the girl spotted him looking at her he offered her a small smile that she returned.

"Hey, Rach, come over here," Puck called out. Santana wanted to smack him. Reluctantly, Rachel lifted herself out of the chair and walked closer to the others. As they parted to make room for her, Beth directed her smile towards the soprano, i.e. Mommy 2.0.

"Yes, Noah?" Rachel asked, show smile in place.

"Beth, this is Ray-chel. Ray-chel." The little girl had heard the name several times before today; most if not all the stories Puck told Beth as she ate involved her sister. The two sisters were only inches apart now. Beth could now see that Mommy 2.0 was actually not her mom: she was darker; her eyes were brown, not green; her face was rounder on the sides; and, the ball of her nose was larger. This discovery upset the child whose face started to scrunch up, but before she could make her dissatisfaction known Rachel opened her mouth.

"Hi, Beth. I'm Rachel. You're so pretty." The beautiful voice from before was back, Beth thought; she decided that while this new person was in fact not her mommy, she couldn't be all that bad if she could make such lovely sounds. To better acquaint herself with the girl, Beth reached out for her and Puck, without a second thought, handed her over. The boy had been trying to get Rachel to hang out with him at Shelby's for a while now, but she would always decline, so he figured if Rachel just got to know Beth, all her hang ups about the Corcoran residence would be settled.

The sudden weight of the fourteen month old was a bit heavy for Rachel, but she adjusted and placed her arms under Beth's thighs and legs as the little girl's hands found Rachel's back and shoulder. Shelby's youngest looked at her new carrier and giggled; and, because Rachel was human, she laughed back, the child's enthusiasm was contagious. Rachel seemed to forget that there was anyone else in the room. She was captivated by small girl in her arms who was animatedly informing her about…well, Rachel wasn't really sure what, but she would smile and throw in a "really?" or a "what happened next?" or something of the sort every now and then so that the toddler knew she was following along. The entire exchange was being captured by iphones, blackberrys, and htc droids.

"Alright guys, everybody settle down," Will said as the break started dwindling to its final minutes. Rachel handed Beth back to Puck who handed her back to Shelby. Fortunately, Quinn missed the entire exchange. The blonde and her 6'3" beau came into the room almost a minute after the co-director began to call for order.

"Alright, I have here Thursday's flight information, the room assignments, our schedule, and everything else you and your parents will need to know for our trip to Nationals," the man stated as he began handing out the stapled sheets.

Shelby and Will began to go over the pages as the kids followed along, most just skipped over to the room assignments. The McKinley high budget barely provided them with enough money for four New York hotel rooms, and even then it was because the hotel had generously offered all the competing teams a discount.

_Room 1: Mr. Schuester, Artie Abram _(Will made sure to be in the room with the large handicapped bathroom)_, and Noah Puckerman _(there was no way the choir director was going to let Puck spend a night unsupervised)

_Room 2: Mike Chang, Sam Evans, Finn Hudson, and Kurt Hummel,_

_Room 3: Rachel Berry, Quinn Fabray, Santana Lopez, and Brittany Pierce_

_Room 4: Ms. Corcoran, Beth Corcoran _(Shelby refused to spend four days apart from her child)_, Tina Cohen-Chang, and Mercedes Jones _

Will tried to arrange the rooms in away that he hoped would minimize drama, even though he knew it was kind of inherent with this bunch. The only issue he could foresee was between Quinn and Rachel, but there was no other option; he wasn't going to stick either girl in a room with Shelby and Beth.

"We'll meet at Dayton International at 8 am at the American Airlines check-in inside, it's about an hour and a half drive to the airport so make sure to give yourself plenty of time to get their. Our flight takes off at 10 and we should be arriving at 11:45. We'll drop off our luggage at the hotel, grab lunch, explore the city, use the practice hall where we'll be performing, have dinner, and then get a good night's sleep." Will flipped the page.

"Friday is round one of the competition. We're waking up at seven," he was interrupted by the sounds of groans, but he continued, "We'll have breakfast downstairs, then walk to the performing arts complex. The first team goes on at 9. We're scheduled to perform at 1:30 so bring a light snack to get you through the day. After we perform those who wish to stay for the remainder of the performances can and those who wish to rest can go back to the hotel room with Shelby until 4. The results will be posted at 4:30."

Will paused. Their plans for the next day really depended on what happened at 4:30.

"After that we'll all go back to the hotel, change and get ready for dinner. No matter what happens, our flight home is on Sunday at 12:30 pm. We should get in before 2, so make sure you all have a ride to get back to Lima."

The room was quiet. The situation was suddenly very real to the kids. This was it. Nationals.

xxxxxx

Rachel's dads couldn't giver her a ride to the airport because they had to deal with calendar in the morning – oh the exciting life of lawyers – so Mr. Schuester offered to take her since she was on his way. Rachel accepted for two reasons. The first being that she hadn't informed her fathers that her surrogate had been hired to act as the hew co-chair of the McKinley High Glee Club – she did not want to spend another month seeing Dr. Steiner, the woman was a complete fraud, charging two hundred dollars a session where she usually just nodded and threw in some "hmmmms" and "I see". The second reason Rachel wanted to ride with her teacher was that she thought she'd be able to run over any and all last minute suggestions she had; but she soon found that the man had other plans.

"How are you holding up, Rachel?" That was an odd way to ask if she was nervous for the competition, the passenger thought.

"I'm very excited, Mr. Schuester. When Jesse and I dated he told me the top performing arts colleges frequently sent scouts to Nationals. Can you imagine the exposure? What if a Broadway producer is in the crowd, just waiting to discover a new fresh talent?" Rachel gushed.

"I meant about Shelby."

"Oh…Um it's fine, we agreed that for the sake of team harmony we'd keep things professional. She's just Ms. Corcoran to me and I'm just Rachel Berry to her," Rachel explained as if it was no big deal.

Will knew that wasn't true. It had been one of the many things he and Shelby had fought about on Friday:

_April Rhodes had showed up to his house unexpectedly, interrupting the romantic dinner for two Will had prepared. He tried to hint that it wasn't a good time, but Will's old high school crush was too wired up to catch on. _

"_Will!" she said pushing her way in, "That coach of yours, Sue. Tall blond lady? She called me last week to let me know you were flying to New York!" He tried his best to keep her out in the living room._

"_Yea, April, the Glee club made it to Nationals," he kept his voice down._

"_That's great!" she said hugging him in excitement, "I knew those kids would go far. Anyways I'm here to invite you to try out for-"_

"_Eh hem." Shelby came out from the kitchen to see what the hold up was. _

"_Well hi there," April greeted her as she unwrapped herself from Will, "I'm April Rhodes,"_

"_Shelby Corcoran, Will's girlfriend." She stated carefully, not sure what to make of the woman. April didn't pick up on any cold vibes. _

"_Well of course you are, sweetie, a looker like you? Will'd d be crazy to pass you up!" She genuinely happy to hear her friend was doing well. Will took that as his cue to step in._

"_Yeah, April, you uh kind of caught us in the middle of dinner."_

_Rather than being concerned about her interruption, April was looking at Shelby trying to figure out why she looked so familiar. Finally it clicked. _

"_Hey, you know who you remind me of? That girl in Will's glee club," She tried to recall the girl's name, "Raquel?"_

"_Rachel," Will and Shelby corrected simultaneously. _

"_Yeah, Rachel," April smiled, "Uncanny. She's a hoot. Like a little adult, but boy can she sing. I own a karaoke skating ring across from the mall," she informed Shelby, "We sang "Maybe This Time" from Cabaret - love me some Liza - crowd went wild." _

"_You sang with Rachel?" Shelby frowned. April didn't notice. _

"_Couple times. Remember, Will?" She looked at him for confirmation. He nodded._

"_That girl is gonna go far, gots me some competition in a few years." When she realized Shelby didn't understand what she meant she filled her in on her new profession._

"_I'm on Broadway now." That reminded her why she had stopped by Will Schuester's house in the first place, "Which is why I'm here. Will, when you're down in New York you have to come audition for my director."_

_After April had finally left Shelby told him that she wasn't happy about the fact that Will let her daughter sing with that floozy, to which Will responded Rachel wasn't really her daughter – bad move, rookie. The fight had escalated quickly after that and round one ended with Shelby ordering the man to take her home immediately. Round two began in the car. This time they argued about those random things couples fight about when they're mad and any little quirk that has ever annoyed them about the other person is considered ammunition. _

"Mr. Schuester," Rachel said, she elevated her voice when he didn't acknowledge her, "Mr. Schuester!"

He shook his head, "I'm sorry, Rachel what were you saying?" Rachel rolled her eyes; the man had a tendency to drown her out.

"I said we just missed the turn to Tina's house."

xxxxxx

Will, Tina, Rachel, and Mike were the last to arrive at the airport – Mrs. Chang refused to let Schuester's carpool leave before she had given the teacher a list of her son's allergies (milk and timothy grass) and that the director had both her husband's house, cell, and work numbers all programed into his phone (and his in hers).

There were only two items of luggage being checked in; those held the dance outfits, shoes, and any other large item related to the performance. The kids had all been told to limit their baggage to carry on size. The girls weren't big fans of this, but they all managed; however, some hairdryers, straighteners, and make up were added to the checked luggage at the last minute.

Mr. Schuester tried to keep the teens from finding out what seats they were in, but since they needed their tickets to get through security, that plan didn't get far. Most of them were scattered about the plane, but there were a few seats that were carefully selected: Shelby, Beth, and Puck were in one row; Artie was close to the front of the plane; and, Finn had an aisle seat.

The flight was pretty uneventful. They landed in New York ten minutes a head of schedule and after they got their luggage and checked into the hotel. They dropped their bags off and met in the lobby.

"Everyone, everyone quiet down," Will ordered. He looked at his watch, "Alright, it's now 12:30. I am going to let you all go to lunch explore the city." The kids broke out into excited and loud conversations.

"But, but, but you're all to travel with at least one partner." The loud chatter started up again as people tried to decide who they'd spend the day with.

"And! You all have to be back here by 4:45 at the latest. I'm serious you guys, we've booked the rehearsal hall for 5 and if we're late they'll give up out spot." Finally, he gave them their blessing to explore New York.

Before Puck could leave the hotel with Rachel and Kurt when he heard Shelby's voice.

"Puck, Beth's asking for you." The boy was torn. Rachel gave his hand a squeeze and told him to go, she and Kurt would make their own fun. When he seemed hesitant, she assured him that this was their city; she joked he'd only slow the two divas down. Puck told her he'd make it up to her and then gave her sweet goodbye kiss. Noticing his friend's sad eyes follow her boyfriend as he walked away, Kurt took it upon himself to make sure she didn't spend another second depressed in the greatest city in the world.

"Lets go, diva," he said linking elbows with her, "Broadway awaits!" She laughed and the two disappeared through the revolving doors.

xxxxxx

The New Directions were back at the hotel enjoying pizza for dinner – Rachel and Sam split a cheeseless one with veggies. All the teens were gathered in Mr. Schuester's room for some last minute team bonding. While, Will and Shelby went off to Shelby's room, claiming they needed to go over some last minute details; in reality, they just needed time to apologize to one another – not like that!

"Hey, hey, hey," Puck complained, "Don't get crumbs on my bed." Finn shrugged sheepishly. Everyone was sharing the details of how they spend their New York afternoon. After hearing about everyone's adventures, Rachel and Kurt agreed that theirs topped the list. They had snuck into Gershwin Theatre and even though a janitor had caught them, he let them sing one song on the Broadway stage. It was perfect.

Puck watched his girlfriend's eyes brighten as she and Kurt talked about their day. Even though Broadway wasn't his thing he wished he could have been there. He was still unsure how he was going to make it up to her. He couldn't do anything tonight seeing as he was rooming with Mr. Schue and tomorrow morning and afternoon were pretty much booked. Puck decided that he'd ask Schue if he could take her out to dinner tomorrow night.

xxxxxx

"I'm not sharing a bed with RuPaul!" Rachel rolled her eyes. Ever since Tuesday's practice Quinn had been especially horrid towards the shorter girl. This however was the first time she had risked insulting Rachel in front of Santana. The Latina was about to go off on the blonde.

"Listen, tubbers, if you-"

Rachel spoke up hoping to calm her friend down, "It's okay, Santana, I can just sleep on-"

"If you say floor I'ma hurt you too," she stopped Rachel from finishing her sentence. Quinn refused to be intimidated. She folded her arms and directed a death glare at Santana. Rachel sighed; they didn't have time for this. They had to be well rested for tomorrow not exhausted form arguing all night. Luckily, Brittany came to the rescue.

"I'll sleep with Quinn and Rachel can sleep with Santana," she stated as if the solution were rather obvious. Santana didn't have a problem sharing her bed with Rachel, but she had been looking forward to sleeping with Brittany, even it was limited to cuddling – Santana was sexually adventurous, but not so adventurous that she'd sex Britt up with people sleeping two feet away.

"Fine," Quinn and Santana spat. Rachel just nodded, grateful an agreement had been reached, and went to brush her teeth.

xxxxxx

When the New Directions arrived to the performance hall they felt a little overwhelmed, excited, but overwhelmed. It felt like there were hundreds of singers in fantastic stage outfits. There were vendors selling t-shirts with NHSSCA (National High School Show Choir Association) on the front and the names of all the competitors in the back. Rachel bought three – one in every color. The team soon took their seats in the audience to watch their competition perform. It was a bit intimidating. There were only a few schools so far they confidently believed they could beat. One hour before it was their turn to compete, the New Directions went to their green room for a snack and a final pep talk. About thirty minutes into their green room gathering Shelby stepped outside because Beth was becoming a bit fussy. As final minutes ticked down, Will stood up to address his kids.

"This is it you guys. I want you to know that no matter what we see on that list this afternoon, we're all winners today. I am so proud of each and every one of you. You guys have come so far and now it's time for you all to go out there and enjoy your moment. Don't hold anything back."

xxxxxx

"Ladies and gentlemen, from William McKinley High School in Lima, Ohio, the New Directions."

The room quieted down as the faceless voice announced the eleventh group of the day. The music began and the spotlight came down on Rachel. She was extraordinary and by the end of the song the entire room agreed. She smiled and quickly took her spot as the introduction notes to the next song began.

The team was scattered about the stage in their respective couples. The boys clasped their partner's hand in their own and lifted it high, prompting the girls to dip into a curtsy of sorts. Artie began the first verse.

_As the winter winds litter London with lonely hearts _

_Oh the warmth in your eyes swept me into your arms _

The steps developed for the verses were began slowly. The girl would be led around her partner for two beats, then he would bring her in close so that both hands were clasped, one between their chest, the other stretched far out. They'd finish out the verse by repeating a turning step-close-step.

_Was it love or fear of the cold that led us through the night? _

_For every kiss your beauty trumped my doubt _

For the chorus the entire team joined in. This is where the dance picked up.

_And my head told my heart _

_"Let love grow" _

The boys turned the girls twice in rapid succession, bringing them back for a dip.

_But my heart told my head _

_"This time no" _

Once righted up the boy would secure his hands at her waist and lift her.

_But my heart told my head _

_"This time no _

When the girl came down, she would spin out and change partners.

_This time no" _

The verse dance repeated, as Finn assumed the lead, during which he was partnered up with Rachel.

_We'll be washed and buried one day my girl _

_And the time we were given will be left for the world _

_The flesh that lived and loved will be eaten by plague _

_So let the memories be good for those who stay _

_And my head told my heart _

_"Let love grow" _

_But my heart told my head _

_"This time no" _

_Yes, my heart told my head _

_"This time no _

_This time no" _

It was now Sam's turn.

_Oh the shame that sent me off from the God that I once loved _

_Was the same that sent me into your arms _

_Oh and pestilence is won when you are lost and I am gone _

_And no hope, no hope will overcome _

Since there was no chorus separating the verses, the boys remained with their partners. Puck took the final verse with Rachel as his dance partner.

_And if your strife strikes at your sleep _

_Remember spring swaps snow for leaves _

_You'll be happy and wholesome again _

_When the city clears and sun ascends _

_And my head told my heart _

_"Let love grow" _

_But my heart told my head _

_"This time no" _

_And my head told my heart _

_"Let love grow" _

_But my heart told my head _

_"This time no _

_This time no"_

They were all breathing heavy by the end, but their smiles seemed to be cemented onto their faces. The auditorium roared with applause.

xxxxxx

4:30 pm on the dot a well dressed man came out into the hall of the performance building and posted two sheets to the a blue clothes standing board. He then walked away without a word. Teams rushed the pages, but the New Directions stayed back. Finally, Will told them it was time. As the crowd cleared enough so that all those from McKinley High could see:

_6. New Directions_

They were going to the finals.

xxxxxx

**Once again Lyrics not mine they belong to Mumford & Sons – if you haven't played their entire album on repeat at least 10 times go do it now…brilliant.**

**Also for the dance number just assume that they altered the moves when it came to Artie**

**Thanks for reading!**


	7. Chapter 7

Rachel was getting ready for her date with Puck in her hotel room. Brittany and Santana were with Tina and Mercedes playing with Beth in Shelby's room. Quinn did not want to be a part of that so she stayed away. The room was pretty tense and Rachel just wanted to get out of there as soon as possible. She was wearing a light blue dress that flared out at the skirt. She was putting the finishing touches to her hair when Quinn spoke.

"You know it's not gonna last, right?" The blonde didn't know why she was provoking Rachel. Her usual annoyance with the girl had rose exponentially since she heard Beth call her mom during practice a few days ago and now she was out for blood.

Rachel sighed, "What, Quinn?"

"You and Puck. It won't last," she stated simply as if it was a known and accepted fact.

Rachel ignored her as she walked to find her strappy kitten heals – gay fathers knew how to fill a carry on bag to the brim.

"You're kidding yourself if you think he's gonna put you first." Rachel just continued to breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth.

"Next year when we're all planning to go off to college, he won't follow you to New York. Beth is in Lima." Rachel walked out of the room, refusing to let the cheerleader know that her last remark landed.

xxxxxx

Puck and Rachel were at nice Italian restaurant a block away from the hotel – Mr. Schuester told him it was that or nothing – waiting for their food. Rachel had been uncharacteristically quiet so far and it was kind of freaking Puck out.

"So you're being quiet," he wasn't one to beat around the bush.

"Just thinking about tomorrow," she supplied.

"Don't. We're gonna rock that shit," Puck reassured her. Rachel nodded, but Puck could tell she was still bothered.

"Hey," he said reaching across the table to take her hand, when her eyes met his he held her gaze, "You're beautiful." Then he brought her hands to his lips and kissed her knuckles softly. Puck wasn't usually down with the sappy, but he wanted to get Rachel out of her head.

"Thank you, Noah; and, thank you for tonight, it's very sweet." She didn't want him to think she didn't appreciate his big romantic gesture.

"Well we didn't get to spend the afternoon together yesterday as planned so I figured I had to make it up to you," he made light of her appreciation.

"Well you succeeded, I'm having a wonderful time." Could have fooled me, Puck thought. When Rachel saw that Puck didn't believe her she decided it was time to stop feeling sorry for herself. So what if Quinn was right. Just because their relationship had an expiration date on it didn't mean she couldn't enjoy what they had right now.

"So tell me," she said with her attitude, "How did you manage to get Mr. Schuester to agree to this?"

Puck smiled suggestively, "Guy's gotta have some secrets."

The date started to go much better after that. The two talked about the competition and then switched to their favorite thing about the trip so far. Rachel's was obviously singing on Broadway. Puck told her his favorite was during his trip to the zoo with Beth and Shelby. He went into more detail than he had in the room the other day when the rest of the team was present. Puck recounted how excited the toddler got when he told her about the Bali mynahs, a white bird with blue detail around the eye. Rachel smiled, knowing Puck was probably happy his little girl seemed to enjoy birds like him.

"Was that her favorite animal of the day?" Rachel asked. Rachel laughed when he begrudgingly shook his head no.

"No, she liked this ant eater thing called a Tamandua," he explained as if it pained him that some lowly mammal had won his daughter's heart over a beautiful bird. But, his mood quickly rose when he remembered Beth's reaction to the curious looking South American animal. He told Rachel that every time the Tamandua stuck its tongue out Beth would go nuts. She'd bounce up and down, clapping her hands.

"We seriously spent an hour in front of that thing," Puck between bites, "And it didn't do anything. Just stuck out its tongue and stared at us."

Rachel, hoping to steer the conversation away from Beth discretely ran her foot up and down Puck's calf. The boy had nearly choked on his meatball when he felt her body part on his. Rachel, for her part, continued their conversation as if nothing out of the ordinary was going on.

"And then what happened?" Puck wasn't really sure what he had been about to say.

"Um…"

"How's the meal? May I move these plates out of the way?" Their waiter had returned with the dessert menu.

"It was delicious," Rachel beamed, "Please give my compliments to the chef." The waiter nodded and then brought the dessert menu down to her eyesight, figuring he'd address her rather than the boy who seemed to be working on his breath control – Rachel's foot had traveled a bit further up.

"Thank you, but really, I couldn't eat another bite. Noah, would you like anything?"

"Huh?"

"Dessert, Noah. Something sweet?" she suggested.

"Uh, no thanks I'm good. Just the check please," he rushed out. Once the waiter walked away Puck looked at Rachel like he was picturing her naked. Deciding he had enough of her little game, Puck gave her a smirk and then adjusted his chair so that they were seated close enough to one another that he could reach her thigh with his hand. He started rubbing light circles on the outside of it with his thumb. The skirt of her dress was thick, but not thick enough that she couldn't enjoy the action. After Puck paid the two left the restaurant and slowly walked back to the hotel, with his arm draped over her shoulders and hers over his waist.

They still had and hour before check in and while Puck had originally planned to walk around the New York City block, Rachel's boldness in the restaurant had given him a new idea. Before the left the restaurant he quickly texted the four boys bunking in Room 2 that he needed the space and that he'd owe them if they just got lost and distracted Schue till 10. As the two teens made their way through the spinning doors of their hotel he got a response. They all agreed; but, they all also warned him it was gonna cost him and not to do anything on their beds. Mike then texted him that he's leave the key slanted against the door for him.

As they rode the elevator passed Mr. Schuester's floor Rachel looked at Puck confused.

"Dates not over yet, babe," he informed her showing her his watch.

When Puck opened the door to the empty hotel room, Rachel was relieved to find it empty. Even though wasn't a big fan of breaking the rules (girls weren't allowed in the boy's room, except if the coaches were present) or acting promiscuously, but she wanted to feel loved.

Puck closed the door and then turned to face Rachel. He slowly approached her and kissed her gently. Rachel pulled him backwards towards the first queen bed, so that when the back of her knees touched the mattress they fell back onto it. Puck secured his arm around her thigh and lifted her all the way onto the bed and then followed, positioning himself on top of her, but they quickly rolled so that Rachel was straddling him as his hands through her hair. Rachel's lips captured Puck's bottom one and the teen opened his mouth wider so that he could taste more of her.

xxxxxx

Puck and Rachel's make out session had steamed up. By now Puck's chest was bare and the top of Rachel's dress was scrunched around her waist. Rachel was nipping at Puck's earlobe. She discovered that he seemed to rather enjoy that particular action. Every she her teeth came down, she'd run her tongue over the spot to sooth it and his hands, which were under the skirt of the dress, would squeeze her ass hard, which in turn would cause her to let out a moan in appreciation. Puck moved his mouth down to kiss Rachel through her bra. She gripped his Mohawk when she felt the new sensation. Puck turned them so that he was on top. Rachel knees bent and her legs wrapped around her boyfriend. Puck's lips traveled back up Rachel neck leaving slow, sensual kisses along the way. He finally reached her mouth so that he could kiss Rachel's swollen lips once again. The pair were too enraptured to hear the click of the door opening.

"Woah!" Sam said closing his eyes after getting a good look at Rachel's lacy bra. Rachel, lips still fused to Puck's, opened her eyes wide and pushed him off of her rolling away from Sam.

"What the fuck, Evans!" Puck yelled, springing off the bed to block Sam's view of his topless girlfriend.

Sam hastily apologized, "Sorry, sorry, I forgot to knock." He risked opening one eye. Puck wasn't sure if Rachel was decent yet.

"Eyes closed, Evans," he ordered. Puck felt a soft tug on his arm and looked down to see Rachel, red with embarrassment, hinting that she needed him to zip her back up.

"I'm just gonna go to my room now," Rachel squeaked keeping her head down. She scurried out of the room wishing both Puck and Sam a brisk goodnight.

Sam wished she would stay; he doubted Puck would kill him with a witness in the room.

xxxxxx

When Rachel returned to her room, mortified, she found that unlike a few hours ago, it was packed and dark. Less than half an hour after she left for her date with Puck Shelby told them that it was past Beth's bedtime. The girls were divided among the two queen beds; some had fallen asleep while the rest were watching a show on TV Rachel had never seen. Rachel quietly made her way to the bathroom, making sure to grab her PJs and toiletry bag along the way. By the time she came out, there was another show on and they'd lost another teammate to sleep. It wasn't late by any means, just passed 10, but the nerves and elation of earlier in the day had left everyone exhausted.

Santana and Brittany were on one bed while Tina, Mercedes and Quinn were on the other. Only Santana, Quinn, and Tina were awake. Rachel wasn't sure if she should join Santana and her girlfriend or just get comfortable on the floor. Santana made up her mind for her, patting the spot next to her by the nightstand. Rachel slipped under the covers and tried to get into the show.

"How was it?" Santana whispered.

"Lovely, I'll tell you about it tomorrow," Rachel promised.

"Fine, but I want details, not 'lovely,' Rachel nodded.

xxxxxx

Santana forced Rachel to take her "bird food" back up to their room so that the two could talk. Before Rachel go into any detail there was a knock on the door. Rachel stood up to let the person in, she assumed it was Brittany – the girl had lost her key four times already. She was half right. It was Kurt and Brittany.

"Did you honestly think I wouldn't require a complete dissection of your outing with tall-dark-and-angry?" Kurt asked as he made himself comfortable.

Rachel shook her head and began recounting last night's events. When she told them about the under the table leg activity Santana interrupted her.

"Oh thank god! Finally some action! Seriously it's been like a care bare tea party so far," she exaggerated.

"I'm sorry my reserved nature bores you, Santana," Rachel huffed.

"Reserved? Please…you're date was like rated E." Wanting to prove her wrong Rachel quickly skipped to the hotel room.

"…And that's when Sam walked in." By the end of her story the three listeners seemed more enthralled than before. Brittany and Kurt were smiling while Santana was giving her a strange look. The Latina was biting down on lip and eyeing her up and down. It kind of reminded Rachel of Puck.

Back down in the cafeteria/restaurant by in the lobby the guys were seated around close tables enjoying breakfast. When Puck walked by Sam his ice-cold water "accidentally" spilled onto the blonde's lap.

"Oops…"

xxxxxx

They came in fifth.

They were obviously proud that their little riffraff team had made it so far on a National scale, but at the end of the day they wanted the big trophy and the Cinderella ending. Will did his best to keep their spirits up the rest of the night. He called April and let her know about their finish and she told him that she was taking them all out to dinner to celebrate. She told him to take the kids to Serendipity and that she'd meet them there. Will said it was too generous (too expensive), she told him to hush up.

Will didn't know how the woman managed to get a table on a Saturday night on such short notice, but he learned that when it came to April Rhodes nothing was impossible. When they got a look at the menu the kids were kind of nervous to order anything. Even Rachel who usually resigned herself to salads when she ate out was hesitant; the cheapest salad was $12.50. April made a loud announcement, telling them that this dinner was on the house (the house of Rhodes) so to go wild.

After thanking April for the meal, the stuffed New Directions went back to the hotel. That's where the night started to take a turn for the worse.

Rachel, Will, Puck, Shelby, and Artie were in the elevator, when Rachel heard Shelby mutter, "I would have never taken Vocal Adrenaline out to celebrate coming in fifth." - she wasn't the only one.

"Then maybe you should just go back there," Rachel responded coldly. Shelby looked at her double incredulously.

"What did you just say?"

"You heard me," the girl stated boldly, "If you can't be happy for our accomplishments then you shouldn't be here."

The three men in the elevator were very uncomfortable and very aware the brewing fight had little to do with just a show choir competition.

"I will not be spoken to like that,"

"And I will not remain silent when someone belittles my team."

Will, Artie, and Puck were praying that the elevator would go faster. Seriously, how long does it take to get to the fifteenth floor?

"I wasn't belittling anyone I was merely pointing out that New Directions were not the victors today."

"If you had been with this team since the beginning you'd know that placing fifth in the country is an achievement that deserves recognition and praise."

Two more floors.

"Well if that's the case we have a lot to work on next year."

"As if you'll stick around."

"Excuse me?"

They had arrived. Neither woman made a move to step out.

"It's what you do right? Leave if something doesn't meet your expectations."

"I'd stay if I saw potential." After she says it, Shelby closes her eyes because she knows that must have sounded so horrible. Rachel brushed passed Mr. Schuester who was holding the elevator and rushed to her room. Puck moved to follow her, but then he heard Beth's cries; the argument had woken her up. The boy hesitated, not sure who to help. Then he saw something that helped him make up his mind. Shelby was rocking and cooing the toddler in an effort to soothe her. Puck realized that Beth was _Shelby's _daughter_. _Beth had Shelby.Yes, he was her father, but Shelby was her mom. Shelby was the woman who would be there for the nightmares, scraped knees, broken hearts, and all the other things. Puck had given Beth up so that she could have that; and, while he wanted to be in Beth's life as much as he could, he had to accept that his would not be the role of "dada". Before jogging off, Puck looked at the three others and said, "I got her."

When he arrives at Rachel's door he gives it a tap with his knuckles.

"Rachel, it's me; open up." Nothing. He tries again.

"Come on, Rach. Please?" For a moment he thinks she's not going to answer him, but then he hears the click of the door opening. Rachel is standing quietly, looking at the floor. Puck takes a step forward and when Rachel steps back he closes the door. At first they don't say anything, they just stare at one another, then a tear slips from Rachel's eye, then another, and another. That's all Puck needs to pull her towards him. She starts sobbing into his shoulder. He rubs circles on her lower back, hoping it gives her some comfort.

"Shhh…"

Just like the night before, they move to the bed, but this time it's not urgent desire driving their actions. Puck situates himself around her body, holding her while she cries. The loud sobs don't last long, but the tears continue. A few minutes later, unaware that there's anything wrong, Santana, Brittany, and Quinn enter the room loudly. Upon seeing Puck spooning Rachel by the edge of the bed Santana calls out, "This is a bone free zone, Puckerman."

Puck ignored her and continued to run his hand up and down Rachel's arm. Santana looks at the pair more closely and gets a good look at the tear mark staining her friend's cheeks.

"Hey, what's wrong?" she asks, her voice heavy with concern. Puck finally lifted his head.

"Can you guys just…" Thankfully, he doesn't need to finish; Santana gets the message. The girls get ready for bed in silence, even Quinn. The only sounds that could be heard were Rachel's occasional sniffle and soft "Shhh"s from Puck.

Puck breaks Mr. Schuester's rules; he stayed in the girls' room the whole night.

xxxxxx

**Hopefully this chapter makes everyone who wanted Puck to get his act together happy. **

**Also, I just posted a short one-shot called "The Boyfriends" it has puckleberry & klaine so check it out if you want to kill like 2 minutes. : )**


	8. Chapter 8

"Rachel…" Someone's shaking her.

"Rachel…" Ugh. Go away, she thinks.

"Barbra's downstairs." That gets her attention. Her eyes shot open and she barely manages to hold in a yelp when she sees Kurt's face and well quaffed hair mere inches from hers.

Knowing that it's early and that its doubtful anyone else is awake, she keeps her voice down, "Kurt?"

"Get up," he whispered.

"What? What time is it?" Rachel's mind was having trouble focusing.

"6:30. Get up. We're having breakfast at Tiffany's, remember?" Prior leaving Lima, Kurt and Rachel had agreed that they would recreate the famous scene on their last day in New York. Rachel nodded.

"Just give me a minute to get ready," she said. Kurt looked her over, last night's cryfest had not been kind to her. The sides of her face were smudge with dark streaks and her eyes were a bit red, irritated by the makeup. The only part of her that came out partially unscathed from the fight was her hair, but even that needed a good run through.

"I'll give you ten," he replied, "Meet me in the lobby." He quietly made his way outside, closing the door behind him. After Kurt left, Rachel moved to rise, but she realized that she was trapped by a strong arm draped over her stomach. Rachel turned her head enough so that she could see the owner, sleeping comfortably. Puck's eyes were closed and his lips slightly parted as he let out steady even breaths. Rachel carefully began lifting his arm, pausing when the boy started to stir. When she realized it was just a false alarm she finished moving the arm enough so that she could escape. Luckily, Rachel had remembered to hand up her white dress with red and black detail along with her red shrug before going out to dinner last night. Rachel managed to get ready and sneak out of the room without waking any of her roommates up.

xxxxxx

The two divas were standing outside 37th and Wallstreet enjoying their bagels and coffee, when Kurt almost choked remembering that something was missing from the equation. He set his coffee on the ground and handed his half eaten bagel to Rachel.

"Hold this." Rachel did as told, curious as to what Kurt was going to do. The well-dressed boy reached into the pocket of his suit and pulled out his iphone. He scrolled through his itunes until he found _Moon River_. He hit plays and makes sure it's on repeat. Before putting it back in his pocket, he made sure the volume was loud enough so that they'd be able to hear it through the cloth.

"Perfect," Kurt declared. Rachel laughed as he took his bagel back and picked up his drink.

"Thank you, Kurt. I needed this," Rachel admitted. Although they hadn't talked about it yet, Kurt was partially aware of her fight with Shelby last night thanks to Artie.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asks cautiously.

"Not right now," she shakes her head, "But thank you for asking." Kurt nods and leans in to kiss the top of her head. The conversation turns to their shared dreams of moving to New York after high school.

"…and I spoke to Blaine; he's on board too." Just then the sounds of _Moon River_ are interrupted by _Bust a Move_, Kurt's ringtone for Mr. Schuester; Rachel's phone also goes off:

_Oh, sweet Caroline. Good times never seem so good._

The two teens share a look; they're pretty sure their absence has been noted. They answer their respective calls. Both Mr. Schuester and Puck are not happy, practically screaming and demanding that the two students return to the hotel immediately. Once they are able to hang up, Kurt and Rachel look at each other and laugh.

"I guess we better go," Kurt reluctantly stated. He step towards the trash can, but Rachel's hand stopped him.

"Wait!"

"Rachel, they sounded pretty mad," Kurt pointed out.

"I know, but we need to remember the moment." Kurt raised an eyebrow.

"Excuse me, sir," she called out to a man talking on his cell phone, dressed up nicer than Kurt. At first the adult looked upset that someone had interrupted his conversation, but then he saw Rachel's dimpled smile and bright eyes.

"Would you mind taking our picture?" He told the person on the other line to hold on a second. Thanking him, she showed him her iphone, already in camera mode.

"On three," he said making sure he angled the phone so that TIFF showed up on top of their heads, "One, two, three." Rachel inspected the picture. Satisfied, she thanked the man again for his time and let him get on with his day. When she showed the photo to Kurt he said, "Oh you are so forwarding that to me right now." After he received it he forwarded it to Blaine with the caption 'Wish You Were Here' on the bottom.

xxxxxx

"What were you two thinking?" Will asked loudly as he paced in front of the two "rebels" seated on Artie's bed.

"Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to wander around in this city unsupervised! And without letting anyone know where you were! Do you know how worried I was? What if you had been hurt? What would I tell your parents? I expect this kind of behavior from Puck-"

"Hey!" Puck objected from his spot behind Schue. He was the one had who alerted the choir director that Rachel was missing at 7:15. He moved to pull her in closer and all he got was air. When she didn't answer his shouts. He ran to Schuester's room and banged loudly on the door basically demanding that a search and rescue party be launched immediately. At first, Will wasn't too worried, assuming Rachel was in the lobby having the continental breakfast, but then Sam came to the room looking for Artie, who had his protein bars in the bag he kept strapped to his chair. Once inside the room Sam innocently asked if they had seen Kurt. After the adult in charge confirmed that the two missing students were not in fact within the safe confides of the hotel, the frantic phone calls began.

"But from the two of you? I just…I just don't know what would have possessed you to act so irresponsibly." Kurt and Rachel hoped the lecture was over, neither one of them enjoyed being yelled out by an authority figure.

"We're sorry, Mr. Schuester," the apologized in unison. Will shook his head and turned away, too upset to continue looking at them.

"What the hell Rachel!" Apparently lecturing was like pro-wrestling; when one partner was tired, they tagged the other in.

"Do you know how fucking scared I was?" Rachel wasn't sure if she was supposed to answer.

"Not even a note! Nothing! No one knew where the hell you were! Santana almost clawed Shelby's eyes out thinking she made you run away or something." Kurt was a little affronted that no one seemed worried about him. As if reading his mind, Puck redirected his reprimand towards the smaller boy.

"And Kurt, Finn almost had a heart attack, trying to think of how he was going to break the news to Burt that he had lost you!" Kurt smiled, but then quickly hid it remembering he was rebuked.

"We're sorry," they chimed again.

"Alright go to your rooms and pack. We'll discuss your punishment later." As Kurt stood up he whispered into Rachel's ear.

"Totally worth it." Thankfully, no one else heard.

xxxxxx

As Rachel repacked her carry on, Santana and Puck glared at her from their seats on the bed. No one had said anything and it was starting to bother her.

"Enough!" She said throwing the top she was folding down, "Say what ever you have to say; the silence is killing me."

"Oh the silence is killing you?" Santana said unamused, "How about how your disappearance was killing us? We thought you were lost out there."

"Santana, I've been studying maps of this city since I was five. I literally know the subway system like the discography of Barbra Streisand," she tried to mollify the girl.

"Sooo not the point," the Latina huffed, "And to think I almost cut Shelby because of you." The room was quiet again. Rachel assumed Puck filled their friend in on last night's fight.

"You can say her name around me, I'm not made of glass," she stated annoyed. Still, neither of the two, seated teens said anything.

"Look," she started, "Shelby and I had a fight. Words were exchanged and my feelings were hurt. End of story." Puck and Santana remained mute, but now they had identical skeptical looks plastered on their faces.

"I'm going to apologize to her when we go back down to the lobby," Rachel confessed. That at least got a verbal reaction out of Santana.

"What?" the Latina hollered in disbelief.

Before her friend could interrogate her Rachel explained, "I was out of line yesterday. Shelby is our choir director and I spoke to her disrespectfully."

"Are you insane? You're not apologizing to that woman," Santana commanded.

"Santana-"

"No!" Rachel winced at her tone, "She's a bitch!" Puck didn't confirm (or deny) Santana's description of Shelby.

"She comes back here like everything's totally cool. As if she totally didn't care that she basically told you to fuck off last time she was here." Rachel looked down.

"San," Puck tried to stop her from continuing, but she wasn't done.

"You told me you spent like months crying over that shit. Hell you smashed that cup she gave the first day she showed up at Glee." Rachel decided that she and Santana would have to have a talk about what confidentiality meant when she wasn't praying for the hotel room floor to open up and swallow her whole. Santana realized that she wasn't helping the situation and she lowered her voice.

"You don't have to apologize to her," she stood up placing her arms on Rachel's shoulders, making sure they were looking each other in the eye, "You get to be mad." Rachel nodded. Puck felt bad, Santana knew all this stuff about his girlfriend that he was just learning about. The boy stood up and the cheerleader took that as her cue to go.

"I'll be in the lobby." She shared a look with Puck before leaving. Once alone Puck finally spoke.

"You didn't tell me you felt that way."

Rachel shook her head as if it wasn't important, "Santana shouldn't have said any of that."

Puck wasn't having that, "You should have told me."

"It was nothing," Rachel assured him, "Seeing Shelby last year was just confusing for me."

"And the breaking the glass?"

"I was upset and I handled it poorly," she said as if discussing the weather.

"But I'm your boyfriend, you should have told me you felt that way." The fact that Puck, the boy who rarely used the "f" word was all but begging her to discuss her feeling and emotions should have clued Rachel into the fact that he sincerely concerned for her.

"We weren't together when all this happened and aside from that one time in my room after I got back from the hospital, you haven't really asked me how I felt about Shelby joining the club."

Puck hung his head, "I'm sorry."

"Oh Noah I wasn't trying to make you feel guilty."

"No. No," he stopped her, "You're right. All I cared about was seeing Beth, I didn't think about how it made you feel. Fuck, and I just kept asking you to chill at Shelby's house with me. Babe, I'm so sorry."

"You don't have to apologize, Noah. You were excited to spend time with your daughter. I understand." Rachel meant it. She didn't need or want an apology.

"Yea I was. And I am. But…Beth is my daughter but I'm not her dad and I can't try to be. It's not fair to her. It's not fair to you," Puck clued her into his little revelation.

xxxxxx

When Kurt made it back to his hotel room, he was surprised to find his step brother sitting on the bed not really paying attention to Sports Center. The sound of the door click alerted Finn to the fact that he was no longer alone. The second he got a good look at Kurt he sprang off the bed.

"What the hell dude? I thought you got like kidnapped." Another lecture, Kurt thought, fantastic.

"I was at Tiffany's with Rachel."

"I know, Puck told me."

"Ok so you know I was safe," Kurt responded not sure why they were still discussing this.

"Yea but we found that out later. Do you know how freaked out I was. I thought I was going to have to tell Burt and my mom that you got lost in the city. That I let you get lost." The taller boy looked genuinely distraught.

"Let me get lost?" Kurt rolled his eyes at Finn's dramatics.

"Finn, you're only a few months older than me," Kurt reminded him, "And a few years younger mentally. I'm not your responsibility."

"Yes you are," Finn retorted, "We're brothers." His answer had Kurt immediately apologizing.

"I'm sorry I scared you."


	9. Chapter 9

"Yea I was. And I am. But…Beth is my daughter but I'm not her dad and I can't try to be. It's not fair to her. It's not fair to you," Puck clued her into his little revelation.

Before Rachel could respond there was a knock on the door.

"Can you open it, it's probably Brittany" Rachel said. Puck opened the door, but it wasn't the forgetful blonde. It was Shelby Corcoran. The two teens stared at the woman. Shelby looked at Rachel and then at Puck, who had yet to move enough for her to get through.

"Puck would you mind giving Rachel and me some privacy?" The co-director asked. Puck did not budge. A small hand slipped through the crook of his elbow.

"It's alright, Noah." Rachel voiced softly, letting him know she needed him to go.

"Fine, but I'll be right outside the door," he conceded, "Right. Out. Side." Once alone, mother and daughter stood awkwardly by the door.

"Do you want to sit?" Rachel asked just to fill the silence.

"Yeah." She was a little hurt when Rachel chose to sit on the opposite bed as her.

"I apologize for my behavior in the elevator last night; it was unprofessional," Rachel stated –sorry, Santana.

Shelby decided she'd finally act like an adult and engaged in the conversation.

"I'm sorry too," she admitted, "I shouldn't have trivialized the New Direction's fifth place win." Silence engulfed the room once more. Taking a breath, Shelby began to steer the conversation to more touchy waters.

"Listen, Rachel, I know my presence at McKinley hasn't been easy for you," the woman divulged guiltily, "I know my actions haven't been easy on you."

Rachel was sitting on the bed wishing she were anywhere else. Hadn't she already sat through this painful conversation with Shelby a couple of months ago? They'd agreed back then that they could do this. Shelby could direct and Rachel could handle it. Shelby would be the co-chair and Rachel would be the pupil; that's it. Nothing more. Nothing less. The girl decided that she didn't want to sit on the bed and listen to her surrogate anymore.

"You don't have to apologize, Ms. Corcoran. I was out of line." She stood up and began to move towards the door, "Now if you'll excuse me I really must have to pack." Rachel hoped Shelby would just scamper off when she saw the younger woman was giving her an out. No such luck.

"Rachel, stop. We have to talk about this."

The diva shook her head, "No we don't. There's nothing to talk about."

"I disagree."

"What could you possibly want to discuss?"

"Us."

"Unless you mean our student-teach relationship, there is no 'us'."

"I don't believe that and I don't think you believe that either. No matter what, I'll always be your mother," she reminded her.

"No, you'll always be the woman who was paid to have me," Rachel's uncharacteristically cynical tone immediately argued.

"I was doing your fathers a favor."

Rachel scoffed at Shelby's excuse, "And spying on me last year? Who were you doing a favor then?"

"I wanted to meet my little girl," Shelby pleaded, wanting Rachel to understand her actions.

"Well congratulations you met her…and then you left."

"It's not that simple."

"Look, Ms. Corcoran, you missed your chance with me remember? I asked you to come to McKinley. You said no. You said you wanted the house, the garden, the dog, the family. I told you about Beth so you could go live that life and a year later you show up out of the blue with your baby in toe! Who does that?" Rachel refused to let Shelby Corcoran, luckily see was too angry to cry at the moment.

"I missed teaching. I missed sharing my love of music with others."

But not me, the traitorous thought made its way into Rachel's head.

"So why not go back to Carmel? Why come to McKinley?"

"I remembered what you said in the green room last year at Regionals. I thought I could start fresh at McKinley," Shelby elucidated her reasons for her decision.

"I asked you that when it was just you. Not you and your new and improved daughter."

"I didn't adopt Beth to replace you. I told you I missed-"

"Your chance with me, I know," Rachel finished for her. Tired of the excuses Rachel, who had obviously been hanging out with Puck and Santana too much, called Shelby out.

"But frankly that is bullshit. You acted like I was sixty not sixteen. My god what are you going to do when Beth's my age, give her a bus ticket and say 'best of luck'?

"That's not fair. It's different."

"I don't know what about me was so impossible for you to love and frankly I don't care anymore."

Stay back tears, Rachel begged.

"How could you think that? Of course I loved you."

Shelby immediately corrected herself, "I _love _you."

"How could I think that? How could I _not _think that?" Rachel laughed humorously.

"Someone who loves me wouldn't cause me all this pain. Do you know how often I've cried myself to sleep because of you? I had to see a shrink because of you. God, I almost drowned because of you and that stupid necklace because, like an idiot, I thought it meant you believed in me."

"I do believe in you," Shelby tried to assure her, "That thing I said yesterday about potential? That came out wrong."

"I don't care. I'm done talking about this. Just know that I won't allow you to use me as an excuse to go running away. You're here now and regardless of how uncomfortable I make you, you're staying. I won't let you dangle Beth in front of Noah just to take her away from him."

"I meant what I said yesterday, I'm not going anywhere."

"Great," Rachel spat, "But I want you out of my hotel room. Now!" That was the first time during the conversation that Rachel raised her voice.

Shelby refused, "No." She wanted to fix this.

"Get out," Rachel demanded.

"No."

"Fine, then I'll leave," Rachel said making her way past Shelby.

"Stop it, Rachel." Shelby hoped that a hug would calm the girl down, but it merely exacerbated the situation.

"Don't touch me!" Rachel yelled.

Upon hearing Rachel's scream Santana practically ripped the door off of its hinges.

"All right, that's it you're done," the Latina ordered, taking a protective stance in front of Rachel. When Shelby made no move to leave Will stepped up next to her, "Shelby, come on. Lets let the girls pack." He gently led her away.

**xxxxxx**

**It's short but I thought the Rachel-Shelby confrontation deserved it's own chapter. Also it was hard to write because I really had no idea what one would say when arguing with their birth mother/daughter.**

**Thanks for all the nice reviews, they make my day! **

**Also to Kim thanks for the New York address tidbit :) My mistake! I looked up Tiffany's in NYC and it said 37 Wall Street but for some reason my mind automatically read 37****th**** & Wall Street. Opps! **


	10. Chapter 10

xxxxxx

"What do I do, Will?" Shelby cried.

Will Schuester was out of his element. He sat with Shelby in her hotel room thinking of what advice he could offer the distraught woman.

"I think you just need to give her some space right now." Shelby's head lifted from her hands to look at him.

"She was so angry at me. I…I didn't know I hurt her like that." Shelby figured that Rachel had gone sixteen years without a mother in her life and that she would be fine with her leaving.

"Tell me," Shelby pleaded with him, "How bad was it? When I left." Will tried to remember how Rachel had reacted after meeting Shelby. The little girl had publically admitted that her fathers paid for a live in shrink, so it must have been confusing for her, but he also remembered how excited she had been when showing off the Gaga-esque dress Shelby has sewn for her.

"You remember the day you sang with her at McKinley?" Shelby didn't know she had an audience that day.

"Brad told me," he explained, "That's the only day Rachel seemed bothered by you leaving; the next week Jesse broke up with her and that seemed to take up most of her attention," he informed her honestly.

He then recalled a later memory, "After we ended glee club for the year I found her in the choir room one day, alone, playing poker face on the piano. She was crying, but when I asked her about it, she said she was just sad it was rehearsals were over, but I wasn't convinced."

"What do I do," Shelby asked again, softer this time, "I need to fix this."

"Give her time and I guess, and I mean if you are really serious about this, Shelby, if you are committed to forming a relationship with your daughter, then you keep trying."

xxxxxx

Shelby and Rachel gave each other a wide berth for the short remainder of the trip. Most of the New Directions politely ignore the tension, for which Rachel was grateful. During the flight Rachel focused on calming her mind and before stepping foot off the plane she made sure her show smile was situated just right, by the time her dads saw her she looked as if she was on top of the world. Puck and Santana quietly asked Rachel if she wanted company on the ride home, but she politely declined, telling them she wanted to spend the rest of her Sunday alone with her dads. Shelby, one of the first off the plane had to rush Beth to the restroom and by the time the two Corcorans came out to join the rest of the New Directions the Berry clan was gone.

The final weeks of school went by rather quickly. McKinley's glee club met Tuesday after their return to Lima for one last meeting, which was the last time Rachel and Shelby saw one another, that is until Shelby showed up at Rachel's doorstep two weeks later on Thursday night.

Puck was having dinner with the Berrys for the first time since he and Rachel had become a couple and while he liked the two men he was still scared shitless. His nerves had eased up midway through the meal, but when he heard the doorbell, he couldn't help thinking the parents had invited the gay mafia to come "take care" of him.

"I'll get it," Hiram said as he stood from his chair.

I'm gonna get it, Puck thought despondently. After another minute Hiram's voice called out from the living room.

"Julius, could you come out here?"

"Excuse me, kids," the man stated confused as to what his husband could need.

"You're doing fine, Noah," Rachel reassured him, "Daddy and Dad love you."

Puck shot her a look of skepticism, "I'm on probation and I have Mohawk. Dads don't love me."

"Mine do," Rachel declared confidently, "You saved me remember? You can do no wrong in their eyes, Daddy even told me he wouldn't care if you were a Packers fan."

Puck scrunched his nose, "Ugh, I hate cheesehead?"

Rachel smiled, "Point is they love you, so relax. Dinner is going well. Dad was especially excited to have you here since it meant he was allowed to cook steak." Hiram Berry did not share his partner's or daughter's affinity for veganism.

Puck nodded, finally accepting her logic and assurances.

xxxxxx

Julius Berry's confusion turned to displeasure when he saw Shelby Corcoran.

"What's going on here?" The tall man questioned the two adults by the door in a hushed tone.

"Ms. Corcoran here wanted to speak to Rachel," Hiram answered at the same volume.

"Lets step outside Shelby," Julius told the woman, "Hiram, go back to the kids, I'll join you all shortly." The shorter man did as directed, but not before shooting one last disapproving look at Shelby. The two men didn't know about any of their daughter's recent altercations with the woman but they remembered how distraught their little girl had been the year before when she told them her birth mother didn't want to form a relationship of any kind.

Once outside Julius looked at the person who had given him the greatest gift in the world.

"Why are you here, Shelby?" He asked, arms crossed.

"I needed to talk to Rachel. They way we left things…" Hiram thought she was referring to the previous year, "at the hotel-"

"Hotel?"

"Yes, at nationals," She supplied, surprised Rachel hadn't discussed their conversation with her fathers.

"Nationals?" Julius Berry was taken aback, "You saw Rachel in New York."

"Of course I did, I'm the co-director of the McKinley glee club."

"What? When did that happen?" Both Shelby and Julius realized that there were a lot of things the girl didn't disclose to her fathers.

"A few months ago," the mother explained, "Anyways I had to apologize to Rachel."

"Why? What did you do?" his tone accusatory.

"We got into a heated discussion Sunday morning and I wanted to apologize," her mind transported her back to the day and she could clearly see Rachel's angry eyes glaring back at her, "I didn't know I had hurt her so much."

"Well that's why we agreed on waiting till she was 18," Julius stated, letting the woman know the entire situation could have been avoided had the surrogate respected the contract.

"I know but-"

"Look, Shelby, this isn't a good time," the father stopped her, "We're in the middle of dinner and her boyfriend is here. Hiram and I work at the Law Offices of Smith and Stein over on Elizabeth Street. If you stop by at noon, we can discuss this, but right now you need to leave."

"Smith and Stein?" she checked.

"Yes. I'll let my secretary know that you're coming. Now please," letting her know she should go.

xxxxxx

**Sorry for another short chapter but I'm working on finishing An Inconvenient Stop too so I have to split my energy. **


	11. Chapter 11

"Goodnight, Noah," Hiram Berry said closing the door as their guest made his way home. Hiram then turned to face his daughter standing next to him, "Rachel, your father and I need to have a word with you." His stern voice had Rachel afraid that maybe Puck's fears weren't so unwarranted, did her parents have a problem with her boyfriend. They had always seemed fond of him. "Yes, dad?"

"Lets take a seat," he suggested steering her back towards the dining room where Julius was already waiting for them. "Rachel, is Shelby Corcoran the co-director of the McKinley High Glee Club?" The question surprised Rachel. How did they find out, she wondered. Never one to flat out lie to her father, just omit the truth, Rachel confessed, "Yes, she joined the team after Regionals."

"Why didn't you tell us?" Julius wondered aloud. Rachel looked down sheepishly, "I'm sorry, but I knew you wouldn't be pleased and you had reacted so poorly last time-"

"Poorly?" Hiram checked, "How so, pumpkin?" Rachel sighed, "Well you had Dr. Steiner come live with us and you seemed hurt when I admitted that I was open to the idea of forming a relationship with Shelby."

"I thought you liked, Patty," her dad stated. "I know she's your friend, dad, but she didn't seem equipped to handle the situation or offer any substantial advice."

"Rachel, I'm going to tell you something and I want an honest answer," Julius instructed. "Shelby came by the house this evening," Rachel's eyes shot up, "She wants to speak with you. Do you want to speak with her?" Rachel's mind was racing. Shelby had come to her house? After Nationals Rachel assumed the woman would maintain her distance and relish in the fact that she did not have to see her eldest child until late August. While Rachel could admit that she was still angry with the woman, furious, really, and that she probably needed to speak with someone about these strong feelings, that did not mean that she wanted nothing to do with her mother. She had gotten a lot of her chest at Nationals, but there were still things she wanted to say and she thought that now in a cooler frame of mind then that Sunday morning they could finish the long overdue conversation.

"I do," she answered quietly, "I'm sorry." She felt like she was betraying her fathers, the two men that she knew, without a shadow of a doubt, loved her and would always want her, even when fellow pupils and mothers didn't. Julius' large hand came around to cup the back of Rachel's head gently.

"Rachel, look at me." After she had complied he continued, "Your father and I love you. You wanting to know Shelby will not change that nor does it make us question your love for us. I'm sorry we didn't tell you that before." Rachel nodded with tears streaming down her face. Julius stood up and knelt down in front of her chair to envelop her in his large arms. Hiram looked on at the moment with affection, agreeing wholeheartedly with his partner's assessment.

xxxxxx

"So she's coming over tomorrow night?" Puck asked as he and Rachel waited for Santana and Brittany to return with their drinks from Brittany's kitchen.

"Yes, Dad called me after his lunch with her. I believe she will be calling you later this evening to see if you can babysit, Beth." After her outburst in New York Puck made sure that Rachel's pent up frustrations weren't also directed at him. She assured him that his relationship with the growing toddler was not something that distressed her and that while she was not Shelby's biggest fan, she was grateful that the woman had given him the opportunity to know his daughter.

"Nervous?"

"Not really. I don't think it could go much worse than last time," she laughed somewhat sadly.

"I could be there if you want," he offered, "I mean Schue could watch Beth." Rachel gave her boyfriend a thankful smile but declined his offer stating she this was something she had to do on her own.

"We're coming back in!" Santana announced from the kitchen. "I don't want to see you all up on each other!" The Jewish couple rolled their eyes, but Puck quickly pulled Rachel on to his lap. She let out a laugh and played along. When Sa the two girls made their way back into the living room with bottles of water in their hands they saw their girl friend straddling the boy as his hands traveled frantically up and down her back.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! What did I say?" Rachel looked over her shoulder at Santana and bit down on her lip giving the Latina her best guilty look. "Oh my, Santana, we didn't hear you come in. I am so embarrassed," Rachel lied, trying to keep up the performance, but she was having trouble due to Puck's inability to keep his smirk to himself. Santana eyed the pair suspiciously, "Didn't hear me my ass." Then in her best Mr. Schuester impersonation she added, "Honestly, Rachel, I expect this type of behavior from Puck," the boy flipped her off, "But not you." Rachel just shrugged, "What can I say, I guess he's a bad influence," she then turned back to face her boyfriend and kissed him sweetly. Santana was about to object to their PDA once again but Brittany stopped her. "I like when they kiss."

xxxxxx

When Shelby arrived, invited this time, at the Berry household Hiram and Julius told the two they'd be gone for an hour; they let Rachel know that if she wanted them back earlier they were only a phone call and five minutes away.

"Can I offer you something to drink," Rachel asked, ever the dutiful hostess. Shelby asked for a glass of water and Rachel told her she'd meet her at the dining room table.

Rachel and her mother sat at the dining room table quietly. Rachel thought it felt a lot like that Sunday morning in the hotel room.

"I'm not going to apologize for Nationals. I admit that I was impolite, but that is all," Rachel burst out defensively.

"That seems fair," the lighter woman responded honestly. After taking a sip of her drink, Shelby set it down and looked the girl in the eye. "I've been selfish, Rachel," Shelby admitted; no argument here, Rachel thought. "I never stopped to think how my actions would affect you and for that I am truly sorry." Rachel's stoic face didn't break.

"But I am most sorry about what I said in the elevator. I swear I was talking about New Directions not our relationship." Rachel looked away; she didn't want to remember those words and how they made her feel. "When you were born I got to hold you for a couple of minutes," Shelby smiled as she recounted the memory. "When they placed you in my arms your little face peaked up at me and you looked at me with your big beautiful eyes so full of wonder and curiosity and I knew right then that you were going to do great things in this world. I knew it with every fiber of my being and I know it now." After hearing the words that she'd been waiting to hear since discovering Shelby's existence, two tears cascaded down Rachel's face.

"I know today doesn't change anything," her mother continued, "I know I'm going to have to work hard to show you that I want to be a part of your life in whatever way you'll let me, even if it's just as a club director. And I know you have no reason to trust me, but I promise I won't give up this time." Silence overtook the room. Shelby waited anxiously for a reaction out of Rachel. The teenager lifted her glass of water and swallowed several large gulps. Finally she placed it back down on the table.

"Okay," she said, her voice barley above a whisper. Shelby wasn't sure if she heard correctly.

"Okay?" the woman confirmed.

"Okay," the girl said, louder this time, "We can try again." Shelby's face brightened up for the first time in weeks. "But this doesn't mean that I'm not still mad at you," Rachel quickly informed her. The mother's head bobbed up and down hurriedly, the smile never leaving her face.

**If anyone is disappointed that I had Rachel accept Shelby's apology sorry but I think Rachel is a forgiving person (see her history with the glee club). Also gleekgenica what you said about season 3 that was so nice! Virtual high five! I don't know if people still high five but I do. And to the rest of the reviewers you all rock too! I think the next chapter will be the last, which is good because I won't have time to continue in a week or so.**


	12. Author's apology!

Readers, I am truly sorry for subjecting you too a disgustingly long and inexcusable hiatus. I've just started grad school and the work is just overwhelming right now. I know I hate when authors leave me hanging so if anyone can't wait for me to get my shit together I totally understand. If you have a strong desire to finish it message me and we'll figure out a way to make that happen.

Again I apologize!


	13. Epilogue

-Epilogue-

So here's what you missed on Glee:

In the months following Nationals Shelby and Rachel had slowly formed a relationship. While they didn't exactly develop the typical mother-daughter bond, they had built a strong friendship; Rachel described it as an aunt-niece connection. Unsurprisingly, the two women had a lot in common: a love of Broadway, the obligatory Jewish fascination with Barbra Streisand, and much more. Still, they weren't doppelgängers and there was the occasional disagreement, like the time Rachel let it slip that she was thinking about taking her relationship with Puck to the next level – that had been awkward.

Rachel and Beth, however, had formed a sisterly bond. The little girl had taken to calling her Ray and tried her best to monopolize the older girl's free time, much to "Nono's" dismay and delight. Rachel and Puck would babysit together whenever Shelby and her new boyfriend Steven went out; Mr. Shuester had gone back to Ms. Pillsbury (he's even thinking of proposing soon).

During the first semester of the school year, Quinn's bitchiness escalated to a psychotic degree. After discovering that "RuPaul" was bonding with her daughter, she devoted much of November to making Rachel's life a living hell. She even tried to seduce Puck when she heard Beth say, "I love you," to the brunette. This little scheme crashed and burned. That had been the last straw. All throughout Quinn's reign on terror Rachel had brushed off her snide remarks and disgusting pictures. She had done her best to calm Puck, Santana, and Brittany; they had all, begrudgingly, let the petite diva handle the situation her own way, but after Quinn showed up in the boy's locker room in nothing but a towel, Santana decided that Berry's ostrich-head-in-the-ground plan was obviously not working and that it was time for some Lima Heights Adjacent shit. At Rachel's prompting, Brittany calmed her girlfriend down and instead of violence they used their words. Eventually the two managed to get through to Quinn. It had been a long and difficult process, Santana had to be physically restrained on more than one occasion, but the couple convinced Quinn to talk to Ms. Pillsbury, who in turn recommended a psychologist who specialized in depression.

Santana came out to her family in December. To her surprise, her parents took the news quite well. They were supportive and let their daughter know that it didn't matter if she was gay, straight, bi, or asexual, they would always love her. Her parents also correctly guessed that their little girl was in love with her best friend Brittany S. Pierce and told Santana that there would have to be an open door policy whenever the two hung out in her room from now on, a rule Santana was not fond of. Sadly, Santana's grandmother did not react in kind. It broke the cheerleader's heart that a woman who she admired and adored, who was her flesh and blood, couldn't accept her for whom she was. Santana hoped that, with time, her grandmother would come around, but she wasn't going to beg the woman to change her mind. If her abuela couldn't accept her than that was her hang-up, not Santana's. As bad as things are between Santana and her grandmother, her relationship with Brittany has never been stronger. She didn't even freak when she found out that the blonde was hosting an Irish exchange student, who was obviously pining for the blonde.

As for Blaine and Kurt their relationship suffered a bit of a set back for a while due to the emergence of Sebastian. Kurt felt insecure and inadequate in comparison the Warbler. This had resulted in a big blowup in the middle of the choir room one afternoon. After accusing Blaine of being unfaithful and saying they were over he stormed out (an act perfected by his best friend). Rachel stopped Blaine from following him and assured him that she'd talk to Kurt. After Kurt unleashed his fears onto Rachel she returned to Blaine and let him know what was going on in Kurt's mind. Blaine then asked Puck for his opinion. Puck never thought he'd be in a committed and stable relationship, let alone be the guy other dudes turned to for relationship advice, but he kind of liked this version of himself. Puck had dealt with Rachel's insecurities for awhile, and while it bugged him that she still had trouble seeing herself the way he did, he understood where she was coming from and did his best to make sure she knew she was his one and only. Puck basically passed on those words of advice to Blaine (in a more manly way of course) and after a week of reparation, the two boys were back together.

Currently, the New Directions along with their co-directors are preparing for Sectionals. They have a few new voices in the mix: Blaine Anderson, Rory Flanagan (aka Brittany's leprechaun), and Sugar Motta, who was a musically inclined as a drowning seagull, but was allowed to participate because Mr. Schuester couldn't bring himself to say no to anyone wanting to express themselves through song.

This year Santana was singing lead on Adele's "Set Fire to the Rain." Rachel had graciously cheered for her friend's achievement, granted it was because she would be singing a duet for the second number, but still she congratulated Santana wholeheartedly. Rachel and Puck were singing "Water and a Flame." The group number would be "Set Fire to the Third Bar," by Snow Patrol featuring Martha Wainwright; the girls would sing the chorus and the guys would divide the verses among themselves.

It was a good lineup, a very good line up. They don't know it yet, but it's going to get them first place. As for Regionals, Nationals, and Graduation, it's still a mystery, but they're all excited to see what happens.

FIN

Thank you to everyone who reviewed and stuck with this story!

I cannot apologize enough for my absence and the wait between chapters.

But rest easy, the journey is over. Hopefully, the epilogue wasn't too disappointing – I mean, if it was me and I had waited months for a new chapter, I'd be expecting something along the lines of War and Peace; hopefully, you all are a little more reasonable!

Thanks again!


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